Carnival Umidus
by evanesce24
Summary: AU. Team Natsu visits a carnival, and Gray meets an interesting girl in the freak show. Mainly Gruvia, but some Nalu, Gavy, and a tiny bit of Jerza is in it as well.
1. Passionate Gaze of the Rain Woman

Natsu Dragneel was walking down the street with his friends Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, and Gray Fullbuster when something caught his eye. "Guys, check this out!" he shouted, tearing a flyer from the post it was pinned to. "There's a carnival in town!"

Erza took the flyer from him and read it over silently before sharing with the group. "This says they arrive tomorrow. It's called Carnival Umidus: 'Food, Fun, and Fantasy for only ten dollars per ticket.'"

Natsu grumbled, "Ten bucks to get into a carnival? Seems a bit expensive."

"I get the food and fun, but what do they mean by 'fantasy?'" Gray wondered, completely ignoring Natsu.

"Says they have some world-famous freak show or something," Erza explained, handing him the flyer. Under a massive rain cloud it showed a variety of attractions: rides, games, food stalls, but the most prominent feature was a huge tent. A banner that read, "Freaks from Fantasy" hung over it, but no details were given.

"I don't like this," Lucy muttered. "Freak shows are terribly inhumane! They keep people locked up and put on display just for being a bit different. It's wrong."

Nastu smiled and slung an arm over her shoulders playfully. "Oh, come on Luce! You know, I heard some of the freaks take real pride in their… um… freakishness. They take these carnivals as an opportunity to show themselves off. They like it!"

"I'm sure you're exaggerating, but I'll go if you guys do," she said meekly.

Natsu, filled with excitement, snatched the flyer from Gray's hand and leapt into the air, shouting, "Carnival Umidus, here we come!"

* * *

><p>The next afternoon, Erza knocked on Gray's door. "Ready for the carnival?" she asked.<p>

"Are we still going? It's raining," he pointed out.

"Yes, but that won't stop us," Erza snorted.

Gray smiled and grabbed his umbrella. Erza also carried an umbrella, but Natsu and Lucy were sharing one.

"I don't own an umbrella, okay?" Natsu said defensively when he saw Gray's suggesting face.

"Fine, fine," Gray dismissed it, but still thinking the two of them would make a cute couple.

When they entered the carnival, they were surrounded by the sounds of customers having fun and carnies selling tickets, food, and chances to win cheap prizes. People rushed around them, most holding umbrellas, some (mostly kids) running through the rain. But amidst all the chaos of the carnival, Gray's eyes were fixed on one thing: the freak show tent.

"Gray, come on!" Natsu called. "I'm not saving you a spot!" Gray turned to see that Erza, Nastu, and Lucy were in line for a ride. He must not have noticed the group moving.

"You know, you guys go on. I'm going to check out the freak show," he said after walking over to them.

"Really?" Lucy double-checked, disgusted.

"Yeah. I mean, a line's already built up behind you, and I really want to check it out, so I'll catch you guys later."

Erza smiled, "Okay, see you later, then."

Gray waved and ran to the tent. He didn't know exactly what it was yet, but he knew something—someone—amazing was in that tent. He pushed back the bright yellow flap and slowly walked inside. It was warm, as should be expected with all the people crammed in there together. Carefully, he made his way through the crowd to get right up in front of the freaks.

The first freak was a pretty average-looking guy, well, Gray wasn't one to judge, but this guy, who went by the stage name of Thunder God, was actually pretty good-looking. He had spikey blonde hair, dark orange eyes, and a lightning-shaped scar crossing his right eye. For some reason or another, he was listening to music on his iPod. "I carry more electric charge than any human in existence!" Thunder God bragged. "Lucky I'm not out there in the rain, or we'd have some serious lightning issues. Anyone care to try?" he offered, holding out his hand. "Don't be afraid, I'll keep it safe, I promise!"

One brave man, some guy with long bright green hair, wearing a red jacket held out his hand to Thunder God's. Thunder God grabbed the man's hand and shocked him so that his hair flew out in all directions. Lucky for him, it was tied by a ponytail at the end, so it wasn't too bad. Both started laughing and the crowd followed. Gray smiled: he was having fun already!

Freak after freak, the crowd moved along through the tent. One guy ate nails, another could make objects move. This guy's body was shaped like a balloon, but his head and limbs were that of a thin man, and that girl with the white hair could do the most amazing animal impressions. The next guy, who is introduced as her brother had the arm of a black bull.

And so the freaks went on. Some were behind bars, but some like the Thunder God weren't. The freak that really caught Gray's eye, and stuck in his memory above all others, was a very pale girl with big, dark blue eyes and short, light blue hair. She sat in a small, round cage looking rather sad.

"Welcome, guests!" cheered the short, old man who stood next to the girl's cage. "My name is Mr. Makarov, and I'm the man in charge of this carnival. I sure hope everyone's having fun!" The group nodded.

Gray was definitely having fun. He'd seen more amazing things today than he ever thought he would in his life. And the girl in front of him, though she didn't look too happy, was most intriguing and very beautiful. He was just dying to see what sort of freakish talent she had.

"Well, good!" Mr. Makarov continued. "I will be introducing this next freak, because, you see, she doesn't speak. Not a word!"

The crowd was stunned. Gray felt a bit disappointed, but he was still excited. She had to do _something_, after all. One boy in the back of the crowd yelled, "Well, what's she do, then? Just being mute isn't enough to be in a freak show! What a let-down!"

Gray tensed up, resisting the urge to give that kid a nice punch in the mouth. Of course, she was more freakish than that, he was just introducing her!

The girl looked hurt, but Mr. Makarov ignored the boy and kept speaking. "You are all in for quite a treat, actually. You see, this girl is so mysterious, we don't even know her real name! We just found her wandering around one day and noticed an odd pattern. So, naturally, we recruited her for our show, to share her wonders of fantasy with you good people. We call her the Rain Woman. Now, you may not believe me, and that's perfectly okay, but her very presence is what's making it rain right now!"

The people erupted with a mixture of amused, disbelieving, angry, and stunned shouts. Gray wouldn't normally believe it, but the way the girl, the Rain Woman, looked at the mass of people, he could tell there was some truth in it.

"Don't believe me?" Makarov laughed. "I guarantee that it will rain all day every day as long as we are here and stop when we leave! You wait and see. She's why wee call ourselves the Carnival Umidus: 'umidus' means 'wet' in Latin, and we're always getting rained on. "

The people calmed down and moved along, but Gray lingered by the Rain Woman for a little longer. She was so pale—like she'd never seen the sun in her life. "Is it true she doesn't speak?"

"Oh, yes, not one sound," Makarov told him and sighed, "I really wish she could. I'm sure if she could introduce herself she'd have much more fun with this"

"Now, I know all the other freaks seem to like the attention, but if she doesn't, why keep her?" Gray asked, laughing at himself for sounding like Lucy.

"Hey, I do what I have to do," Makarov said sternly. "Now, go along with the rest of the group."

The black-haired boy hesitantly moved along. He took one last look back at the Rain Woman and was astounded. She was staring at him with fierce eyes that bore through his very soul. So intensely blue and framed with unusual lashes that brought out the wild energy of them. They were so different from the sorrowful, forlorn eyes he saw before that Gray was speechless. Makarov raised his eyebrows at Gray, who silently turned and joined the rest of the people, who were now marveling at a woman with light brown hair who could turn objects and animals to stone.

Gray was tossed through the crowd as it moved along the row of freaks, but he never stopped thinking about the Rain Woman. What he wouldn't give to talk to her….

Gray stepped out of the tent and saw his friends. Natsu waved him over. The pink-haired boy and Lucy were standing next to Erza, who sat in a chair across from a young woman with wavy brown hair and brilliant purple eyes.

"This is Miss Alberona," Lucy explained. "She uses cards to tell the future."

"You can just call me Cana," the woman smiled and then spoke to Erza. "The cards read that you are very strong, and this strength has brought you the happiness you enjoy today, but it will only continue to grow. Be aware of a boy with red on his face. He'll make things interesting," she said with a wink.

"Thank you, Miss Alberona," Erza said, getting up. "You wanna go, Gray?"

"Er, no thanks," he said. "You know I'm not really all that into this fortune-telling stuff."

"Oh, come on, Droopy-eyes! We all did it!" Natsu encouraged, clapping his friend on the back.

"Fine," Gray sighed and sat down across the table from Cana. She shuffled the cards, handed them to him and told him to cut it into as many piles as he wanted. He chose four. Next, she told him to recombine the piles in whatever order he wanted and pick three cards from the deck. He did so and came up with the desert lizard, the tower, and the lovers.

"You've been in a metaphorical desert," Cana told him. "But you didn't realize it, and you probably still haven't. You don't know what you don't have until it's shown to you, after all. Now, you see it, but you can't get to it. Don't worry, though, you'll try you're hardest and ultimately end up happy."

Gray didn't know what to think. Did this have to do with the Rain Woman?


	2. A Secret Exchange and Promise

The Rain Woman sunk back to the floor of her cage, as the beautiful boy with black hair and kind eyes walked away, joining the others. _Of course, he showed a bit of interest, a bit of compassion, but in the end, he's just like all the others_, she thought.

"Oh, come on, Rain Woman, don't be like that," Mr. Makarov moaned. "You still won't speak, will you?"

The Rain Woman crossed her arms and turned away from him angrily. That boy was the only person who'd ever shown genuine interest in her as person—at least remotely-and not just some being that carried bad weather. And Makarov had shooed him away. She knew it was mostly Makarov, but still couldn't shake how easily he had left her, how easily he'd abandoned her for the crowd and the next line of freaks.

_No, why should he stay? It's not like he's some old friend. It's not like any loyalty should be expected form him. He's just another customer of the carnival. _

"That's the idea, Rain Woman. Forget him," Makarov said gently, reading her face. "Now, pick yourself up, the next wave's coming."

The Rain Woman stood and tried to make herself look presentable, but the black-haired boy wouldn't leave her thoughts. He was just so perfect. Crowd after crowd of onlookers passed by, and Makarov introduced her to all of them, but she paid them no attention. Her mind was on the other side of the Carnival, wondering what that boy was doing now. Was he with a girl? A guy? If he was here with anyone as a date, she just couldn't take it. Rage towards this fictional person filled her, and she didn't even notice when people from the crowd asked Makarov what her problem was.

"Oh, she's fine," he chuckled. "Rain Woman…. Rain Woman, you okay?"

She snapped out of her trance for a moment, turning to give the people a reassuring smile and nod.

Makarov ushered the group, the last wave of the day, along and whipped around to face her as soon as they were down to the next freak. "What was that?"

The Rain Woman made an apologetic face, and Makarov relaxed. "Fine, fine. Just stop daydreaming during shows. It's just about closing time now, anyway, but bring you're A-game tomorrow." He pointed a stern finger at her and walked away to get the rest of the carnival ready for closing.

"What? Some guy showed a little bit of interest in you and you're falling apart, Rain Woman?" the Iron Dragon, the man who ate metal, asked, walking over. He was pretty scary-looking: long, shaggy, black hair, no eyebrows, tons of piercings, and bright red eyes, but the Rain Woman, like everyone else in the Carnival, knew he was harmless. But for the customers' sake, he really should be kept behind bars, if only he wouldn't eat them. "Geehee," he snickered, "I knew it. You're such a laugh!"

"Gajeel, stop it!" Lisanna scolded him. Gajeel was the Iron Dragon's real name, what everyone called him off-stage. Lisanna's stage name was Wild Child due to her animal impressions. Personality-wise, she wasn't wild at all. Her brother, Elfman, had wanted his stage name to be Manly Man, but Makarov made him go by Black Bull instead.

"Oh, I was just teasing her a bit. You know, I had absolutely no fun all day today. This town is so boring," Gajeel complained.

"Oh, really?" Lisanna said suggestively. "What about that short girl with the blue hair?"

"What about her?" Gajeel grumbled, tossing a few screws into his mouth.

"I saw her face: she thought you were attractive. Why, I don't know, but she did."

Gajeel snorted, brushing Lisanna off, and the Rain Woman stopped paying attention to their conversation. That boy from earlier was very attractive, no question. The way his hair sparkled, dusted with raindrops. The way his eyes sparkled when they met hers, she couldn't stand it.

Outside, on the other side of the carnival, Gray Fullbuster walked out with his friends, Erza, Lucy, and Natsu.

"Well, that was fun!" Natsu said with a big grin.

Lucy laughed, and gave him a big hug, holding the stuffed snowman-dog he'd won for her.

Gray's house was the first they came to, so he said his goodbyes and walked inside. As soon as the door shut behind him, he had a brilliant idea that he just couldn't ignore.

He hung his white and blue jacket up on its hook so that he was just in his black shirt, pants, and shoes. In his pocket, he stuffed a pad of paper and a pen.

Around two o'clock, when he figured most of the carnies would be asleep, Gray set out from his house, running for the Carnival Umidus under the cover of night.

When he got there, the ground was mostly deserted. Only a few lights came from the trailers where the carnies lived, but for the most part, everyone seemed asleep. He crept into the freak show tent, but it was empty. Even the Rain Woman's cage was vacant.

He'd hoped he wouldn't have to get too close to the few people who were awake, but Gray sucked it up and ran silently through the rain to the trailers. He snuck between them, trying to figure out which one the Rain Woman would be in.

Finally, he came upon one that had a picture of a rain cloud surrounded by colorfully decorated cards on the side. On either side of the image were portraits of Cana Alberona, the fortune-teller, and the Rain Woman. Gray peaked through a window on the side with the Rain Woman's portrait and found that there were bars running in front of it and turquoise curtains on the other side.

Cautiously, he tapped the glass, hoping she was awake even though it was dark. Luckily for him, she was, and it was only a matter of seconds before her pale hand pushed aside the curtains, and her face appeared in the window, filled with joy.

Gray smiled and waved. Leaning closer to the glass, he asked, "Does the window open?"

The Rain Woman nodded, still smiling uncontrollably, and lifted the glass so that only the bars separated them.

Gray let out a soft chuckle. "So, um, hi. I know you don't talk, but I think you're just too interesting a person to not get to know. Here, uh, I brought a pen and paper, if you felt like sharing."

Grinning and blushing, Gray pulled the paper and pen from his pocket, careful to keep the paper dry, and passed them through the bars.

The Rain Woman smiled. They'd tried this when she first joined the Carnival, but she would never write anything for them. Wasn't having her there enough for them? For this boy, though, she would write. _What's your name?_ she scrawled on the paper, showing it to Gray.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Gray apologized. "I should've introduced myself first. My name's Gray Fullbuster. Do you mind if I ask what your real name is, Rain Woman?"

She shook her head. She liked him, but she still didn't trust him enough to share that much.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gray said, feeling like such a jerk for invading her privacy. He was lucky enough that she was communicating with him at all. "Er, how old are you, then?"

_17_, she wrote.

"Cool, I'm 18, by the way. You guys are in town for two weeks, right?"

The Rain Woman nodded, but her face fell when she noticed how wet Gray was getting in the rain. It couldn't be comfortable. She used the paper to ask why he hadn't brought an umbrella if it was raining.

"Not the best for stealth, umbrellas," he told her. "I'd hate to get caught here, but besides, I don't mind it that much. In fact, the rain makes it colder, and I love cold weather."

The Rain Woman blushed, but both of them turned their heads sharply to where they heard a door close just a few trailers down. _Gray has to leave or he'll be found, _she wrote.

"You're right, but I'll be back." Assuming she'd been through more than her fair share of broken promises in her life, Gray slid his necklace over his head and handed it to her through the bars. "Here, I promise I'll be back tomorrow night."

The Rain Woman's heart filled with trust, a genuine trust that she normally didn't allow herself to feel for fear of being betrayed, and Gray disappeared into the night. The Rain Woman examined the necklace, a silver chain with a silver sword hanging from it. In the sword was a smooth round stone. Before anyone saw her with a mysterious necklace, she slipped it around her neck and tucked it into her dress, where no one would see it.

As soon as she shut the window, Mr. Makarov entered the trailer from the door on Cana's side—a barrier of bars split the space in half. Cana remained peacefully asleep, but Makarov walked across the room to the Rain Woman.

"I heard a voice mumbling, you haven't seen anyone suspicious have you?"

She shook her head, resisting the urge to reach her hand up and fiddle with the sword that hung from her neck.

"And you wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

She shook her head again.

"Good. Get some sleep, then," he smiled, leaving the trailer.

The Rain Woman looked out the window one last time before crawling into bed, hoping Gray didn't get caught, and praying he stayed true to he promise and would come back the next night.

* * *

><p>AN: Wow, really fast update (same day). That's what weekends are for, I guess.


	3. A Rose by a Name Smells Even Sweeter

Gray picked at the crust of his sandwich. He was having lunch with Lucy and Erza, but he really wasn't all that hungry.

"I'm so sad Natsu couldn't come," Lucy moaned. "He woke up this morning with food poisoning from all that carnival food he ate last night."

Erza laughed, "Even he can only hold down so many of those odd mushrooms."

Lucy stared at Gray, who was spacing out and didn't seem to be having as much fun as Erza and herself. "Hey, Gray, is something wrong? You're not eating."

"Oh, no, I'm fine, just tired," he assured her, taking a bite of the sandwich in front of him. His mind was so far away, he had forgotten what was in it. It ended up being tuna. Gray was worried about the Rain Woman. What if Mr. Makarov had seen him, and she was in trouble? What if going back was too dangerous? But if he didn't go back, he'd be breaking a promise he made to a person who already had pretty intense trust issues, he figured. He looked out the window to make sure it was still raining, that the Carnival hadn't decided to leave early because of him.

He let out a relieved breath. As it had been for the past day and a half, rain flew down from the clouds, pitter-pattering at the windows and dotting the glass with thousands of tiny sparkles. She was still there. Still close to him.

Something outside turned his focus from the window itself to what was on the other side of it, but before he could mention it, Erza wondered, "Is that Miss Alberona?"

"It is!" Lucy exclaimed, looking at the group of carnies walking through the middle of the road. "They must be advertising for the carnival."

Among the carnies, Gray recognized Cana, some of the freaks (Iron Dragon, Wild Child, and Thunder God), and a few other carnies. Though he was hoping the Rain Woman would be there too, he knew she wouldn't. She was kept under higher security than the others, probably because she was the most likely to try to run away. It didn't escape his attention that the Wild Child was kept in handcuffs, the end of the chain held by Cana. He remembered she was one of the freaks in a cage at the carnival and wondered if she also wanted to leave Carnival Umidus or it was just for show.

"We should go out and say hi!" Lucy suggested, standing up.

"Oh, she probably doesn't remember us," Erza said. "Lots of people get their fortunes told at that carnival."

Gray watched the group continue down the street, but through the rain and the wet window, he could swear the Iron Dragon met his eyes for just a second. Despite the evil laughter radiating from those sharp red eyes, Gray returned the glare to the back of Iron Dragon's head as the group walked away. _What's his problem? _

"Gray, you're not wearing your necklace," Lucy pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, I must've forgotten it this morning," Gray laughed, not wanting to tell them where he'd been the night before.

Erza didn't seem to buy it. She knew Gray never took that necklace off and was about to ask for the truth, but she was cut off by Lucy's squeal.

Natsu stood behind her silently, covering her eyes with his hands and smiling. "Who is this?" she giggled, reaching her hands up and grabbing his scarf. "Oh, hi Natsu! Feeling better?"

"Yep!" Natsu said, taking the seat across from her.

Gray checked his watch and noticed it was one o'clock, half and hour before Carnival Umidus opened for the day and debated stopping by. On a whim, he stood up and announced, "You know, guys, I have some things I have to take care of at home, so I think I'll head out."

"Really? Ok, see you," Lucy said.

"See you, Gray," Erza and Natsu echoed.

Gray ran through the rain back to his house. He hadn't brought an umbrella to lunch, because now that he knew the reason for the rain, he loved it. _Maybe tonight, she'll tell me her name_, he hoped.

* * *

><p>Makarov lead the Rain Woman into her cage in the freak show tent and then left to tend to the rest of the carnival just as Gajeel, Laxus, and Lisanna returned from their advertisement run.<p>

"Hey, Rain Woman!" Gajeel taunted her, a malicious grin on his face.

"Gajeel, stop it!" Lisanna begged him. "We don't know all the details!"

The Rain Woman motioned for Gajeel to keep talking. Whatever was going on, she wanted to know. They never let her go out into the towns they visited to advertise, because she was both the most likely to run away and the most crucial member of the carnival. Without her the name meant nothing, the posters didn't make sense, and the freak show would lose its most mystifying attraction.

Gajeel roared with laughter, "Guess who we saw eating lunch at 8island?"

The Rain Woman shrugged, but she had an idea.

"That boy you saw for literally two minutes and completely fell for!" he cracked, and suddenly, the Rain Woman was very interested. Gajeel saw her excitement and only cackled more. "Geehee, but guess who he was with?"

"Gajeel!" Lisanna snapped, but he ignored her.

"He was with these two girls! A blonde and a redhead, both with no lack of chest, if you ask me!" Gajeel walked away and sat on his stage, snickering and letting the Rain Woman fall into her despair.

Each word Gajeel'd spoken dug into her heart like a knife. Her body trembled with confusion, sadness, frustration, betrayal, and simple astonishment. _Gray seemed so sincere before… How could he do this? _She remembered how she pictured him with other girls and worried over it, but now that it was real, she didn't know what to do with herself. She curled up on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face in them.

Outside, the rain began to come down harder and harder with every passing second. The droplets of water fell like bullets, pounding down on the tent and creating a loud roar inside.

"What's going on in here?" Cana demanded, bursting through the opening and running up the path to the Rain Woman's cage.

Laxus followed her and explained, "Gajeel told Rain Woman that we saw this guy she's got a huge crush on eating lunch with two super hot and busty girls today, and she did that."

Cana sighed in frustration, and slapped a palm to her forehead. "You might not know this, but the rain gets worse when she's upset. Outside, we only have little tents or tarps up on poles, so rain this violent is a big problem. My station's already falling apart, it's getting pelted so bad! Don't mess with the Rain Woman!" she snapped at the few freaks who were in the area, and then crouched to talk to the Rain Woman. "Hey, I'm so sorry Gajeel did that. He's a dick! I'm sure your guy is only friends with those girls."

The Rain Woman tightened into her ball. How did she know he wasn't dating one or both of them? She wasn't his girlfriend yet. What right did she have to be upset over him hanging out with other girls? After all, he'd never done anything romantic towards her. All he did was show interest and promise to come back. Sure, he gave her the necklace, but that didn't have to mean anything.

Cana sighed again and stood. "I have to get back to my station now. We open soon. Promise you'll be okay when the customers come."

The Rain Woman managed a small nod. She'd try. For Cana.

"Okay, see you later then," Cana said gently and left, giving Gajeel a most disapproving glare on her way out.

Lisanna mentioned to the Rain Woman, "the girls' boobs really weren't much bigger—if at all-than yours," and took her place in her huge cage, which was decorated with cardboard cutouts of wild animals from all over he world.

The rain outside began to subside, almost returning to its normal pace, and the Rain Woman got ready for the show. She stood in her cage, which was positioned under a curtain that resembled rain, and when Makarov showed up, ready to present her, she was fully under control. Falling to pieces inside, but in control of her appearance.

She only faltered in her composed façade when who should come by but Gray? He was right up in front, smiling up at her. How could he look at her as the Rain Woman had seen couples look at each other when he'd just finished lunch with two busty girls? The Rain Woman wanted to be angry at him, but she couldn't help herself. The shattered fragments of her heart melted back together, and she felt like, if they were ever to become a real couple, it would probably freeze that way, whole and happy.

"You come back?" Mr. Makarov asked when he recognized Gray.

"Yeah. You've got an amazing carnival on your hands," Gray replied, trying to sound respectful.

"Well, thank you."

The group moved along, and Gray followed, winking at the Rain Woman before turning to the next freak. That wink sent a burst of joy through her heart. Winks were normally flirtatious, right? Or had she been isolated from civilian society for so long that she was misinterpreting?

The Rain Woman tried to push the negativity from her head, trying to be optimistic. Maybe he liked her.

Meanwhile, Gray spent another few hours around the rest of the carnival, and the whole time, he worried if the wink he'd made was too forward for her and made her nervous or uncomfortable. After all, she's lived in the carnival for who knows how long and hasn't spoken a word.

* * *

><p>That night, at precisely two o'clock, trying to arrive at the same time as the night before, Gray dressed in black, grabbed the pad of paper and pen, and ran to the trailer the Rain Woman and Miss Alberona shared.<p>

He knocked on the Rain Woman's window, but she didn't answer. "Rain Woman," he whispered, hoping she'd open it. He looked around, but fewer lights were on than the previous night and no one seemed to be moving around too much.

"Hey, boy," Cana whispered, opening her window and sticking her head out. She didn't look happy with him at all, but Gray walked over to her. "I don't think the Rain Woman wants to see you today. I didn't know who you were until now, but a few of the freaks noticed you today having lunch with some girls. Busty girls."

Gray was stunned. Busty? He'd never noticed before, but now that she mentioned it, pretty much all the girls he knew had fairly large chests. "Their names are Erza Scarlet and Lucy Heartifilia, and we're just friends. In fact, I feel like Lucy and our other friend, Nastu Dragneel might start dating soon. You met the four of us yesterday, but you probably don't remember."

"No, now that I see you, I remember, and those two have much more boob than I'd been picturing."

"No more than you."

From the Rain Woman's window, Gray heard her knock on the side of the trailer to get his attention.

"Rain Woman!" he whispered, happy to see her.

Suddenly, a man appeared behind Cana, planting a kiss on her neck. He was muscular and had straight dark hair pulled into a bun that was covered by a cloth and light-colored eyes. "Hey, Cana. The kid seems sincere, and Rain Woman's not dwelling on this whole lunch thing. We should forget about it too and give them some privacy by going back to my trailer."

Cana laughed. "Fine! Gray, you treat her well."

"I will," he promised, and Cana and her man, who Gray recognized as the carnie, Bacchus—beat him in a drinking contest, and you win a hundred dollars. As soon as Cana closed her window, Gray rushed to the Rain Woman's. "Hey! I'm so sorry if there was a misunderstanding about who I was seen eating lunch with today. Those two girls are my friends. One I've known forever, so she's like an older sister, and the other is about to start dating my other friend. I've never thought anything romantic about them ever, and I probably never will."

The Rain Woman just put a finger to his lips and motioned for him to hand her the paper and pen. _Why does Gray feel so bad for seeming like he was on a date?_ she wrote.

Reading this, Gray didn't understand. He didn't get that she didn't see herself as someone he had feelings for, but he clarified, "Rain Woman, I probably haven't been showing it well enough, but I really like you, and if you weren't kept behind these things all the time," he said, touching one of the bars that separated them, "or forced to stay with the Carnival, I'd do anything to be your boyfriend. That is, if you wanted me to."

The Rain Woman couldn't breathe. She clutched his necklace, which hung around her neck. She didn't know how to show how much she cared about him but—

She wrote across the paper quickly in her excitement, but decided it looked too sloppy, so she ripped the page off and wrote in her best handwriting on the next page before thrusting it into Gray's hands.

He read the single word that she'd put on the paper, and then, puzzled by its meaning, said it aloud, "Juvia?"

The Rain Woman blushed furiously, unable to contain herself. Impulsively, she reached her arm out, grabbed Gray by his neck and pulled him closer. "Rain Woman's name is Juvia," she breathed into his ear.

The breath left Gray's body. "I thought you couldn't speak."

"Juvia can speak, she just chooses not to unless she really likes that person. Juvia speaks to Cana, but only because she knows Cana won't tell anyone else that Juvia can. Now, Juvia wants to talk to Gray," she said softly.

"Juvia, you're so beautiful, you know. You're name and voice too," he said with a laugh.

Juvia smiled, and Gray slid his hands through the bars to hold her face. Feeling brave, Juvia pulled him up so that his face was right there in her window and, abandoning all caution, she kissed him.

Gray couldn't believe how lucky he was. She'd opened up enough to not only share her name but speak as well. And now their relationship was moving forward. When Juvia stopped the kiss, he gave her another quick one. "You're really an amazing person, Juvia."

* * *

><p>AN: Hurray for progress!

If you don't keep up with the manga, you wouldn't know who Bacchus is and won't for quite a while. If you want some background of his character read on, if minor MINOR spoilers are too much for you, then don't. He's a member of the guild Quatro Cerebus and beats Cana in a drinking contest. After winning, he takes her bikini top as a trophy. Macao punches him, and Bacchus is lucky Gildarts wasn't around.


	4. The Eternal Struggles of Love

As dawn broke over Carnival Umidus, Iron Dragon Gajeel was sitting in Cana and Juvia's trailer, listening to Cana explain something completely insane.

"You people… Rain Woman, I don't know what kind of 'understanding' you and Cana have here, but if this is what you want, you've really lost it. There's no way," he told them.

Cana shushed him and kept at it. "Please, you know it won't work without your help. This is something Rain Woman really wants, something she needs."

"But afterwards, when Makarov sees what's happened, he'll know I helped, and I'll be the one in trouble. You too, Cana."

"Let the old man get mad at me, he never deals out any real punishment for anything. Even for something this serious, he'll just get mad. He's too nice," Cana shrugged. "And as for you, I see that you aren't happy. I had a little chat with Lisanna, and she mentioned that there was a girl a few nights ago who was giving you the 'he's so hot' look."

"So?" Gajeel scoffed. He pretended not to remember the girl, but he did. She'd been really cute: short for her age, wavy blue hair, and bright hazel eyes that matched her bubbly personality, which shined through her radiant smile. "You think I'd risk this and help out the Silent Shower, here, just for a chance at some girl I've only seen once and never talked to? You people are insane."

"But you will help, I know you will," Cana said with a bit of a laugh under it.

Gajeel stood up to leave. "I'll think about it, but probably not. Rain Woman, you need to get your head out of the clouds, because this is ridiculous."

The door shut behind him, and Cana whispered, "Don't worry, Juvia. I know he'll help. But even if he does, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Yes, Juvia's sure," she said, confident the love she and Gray shared could pull through any hardship.

* * *

><p>Walking down one the frozen foods aisle of the grocery store he worked at, Gray let his mind go blank. The frozen foods aisle was where he felt most comfortable, and his job was exhausting. He had to meander the store and help customers out, but he really was just never in the mood for that. On days like this, when almost the entire store seemed to suck the energy out of him, the frozen foods aisle was where he could just relax and willingly let the energy go.<p>

The past two days, Juvia had been constantly at the forefront of his mind, and he felt like, while she was great, he needed a time out. He just stood and let the icy air seep into his head, clearing out his thoughts until there was only peaceful, cold silence.

_What am I doing?_ he asked himself when he was finally ready to lay the events of the past two days out in front of him and thoroughly make sense of them. _She seems pretty in love with me, and I think I could love her. But I really don't know her all that well. Maybe if it were easier for us to just hang out like normal people, we'd be better together, but she's locked up by the carnival and only talks to Cana Alberona and me. _Thinking about the carnival brought another fact into the equation. _Umidus is leaving at the end of the week, anyway. Whether I like her or not, she'll be gone soon. _

Of course, this only made him more confused. Did it mean he should do more to get to know her and spend as much time as possible wit her before the Carnival moved on, or should he just forget her, knowing it can't be?

Gray shook his head. A small part of him, the fairy tale part, wanted to break her free of the carnival and run away with her to who-knows-where, not really caring what happened to them as long as they were together. And then came the rest of his head, the logical Gray who reminded him that he'd never give up the life he had to elope with someone he'd only just met and really knew nothing about. The real question was, did he truly love her or just want to love her?

_If we got to know each other better, I could see myself falling in love with her_, he told himself, phrasing his complicated feelings as best he could.

"Gray! Get to work!" his boss shouted at him. She was a tall, old woman named Porylusica with pink hair and red eyes, who sometimes acted like she must hate humanity. "I know you like wasting time, but don't do it on the job!"

"Yes, ma'am," Gray answered and slowly made his way into the next aisle to look for customers to help.

When he turned the corner, he ran into his friend, Levy McGarden, who was shopping with her two roommates and best guyfriends, Jet and Droy. "Hey, Gray," "Levy greeted him. "I completely forgot you work here."

"Yeah, hey Levy. Jet, Droy."

"I noticed you, Natsu, Lucy, and Erza a couple days ago at that carnival that's in town. You looked busy, so I didn't say hi. Did you like it?" Levy asked.

Gray laughed on the inside. He might be a little confused about how serious he is about Juvia, but he liked her, so yes, he liked the carnival _very_ much. "Yeah, I thought it was great. I particularly liked the freak show."

"Oh, me too!" Levy smiled, and Jet and Droy, beginning to get a bit bored, distracted themselves with the various brands of cookies in front of them. "Any favorites?"

"Yeah, I thought the Rain Woman was pretty cool. You?"

Levy looked over her shoulder real quick to make sure the boys were sufficiently preoccupied before revealing, "I really liked the Iron Dragon guy. Of course, you wouldn't get it, but he's one hot guy." Gray raised an eyebrow, trying to picture innocent little Levy, who looked like a kid even though she was seventeen with that long-haired, red-eyed, stud-skinned, metal eater. "I wouldn't mind if he was lurking in the shadows near my house, if you know what I mean," she said with a wink.

Gray laughed a bit, but Levy was completely serious.

"Hey Levy," Droy asked when he and Jet finally picked out a package of cookies, "could you go check if they have that nice fertilizer I like?"

"Sure thing, Droy!" Levy chimed and pranced off in her short, yellow-orange dress.

Once she was gone, Jet and Droy opened up to Gray. "She hasn't shut up about that Iron Dragon guy since we saw him at the carnival," Jet complained.

"I mean, she tries to, but even when she isn't talking, she's got that look on her face, you know?" Droy added, grabbing a few more packages of cookies.

Gray tried to comfort them, "Don't worry. So she's got a little celebrity crush, big whoop, so do all girls. The carnival will be gone soon and this guy'll be out of your hair."

"But whether there's fifty or zero hot bad boys running around, we're never getting out of the friendzone," Droy moaned.

"No, we're so deep in the friendzone, we're almost pet-zoned," Jet agreed.

Gray would've said something encouraging for his fellow dudes, but Levy came gliding back down the aisle with a big bag of fertilizer in her arms. "Happy Green, right Droy?" she confirmed.

"Yeah, just toss it in the cart," he told her. "Well, we should get going. Nice seeing you, Gray."

"Bye," Gray waved. As they walked away, he heard Levy scold Droy for picking up so many cookies, but he claimed he could eat whatever he wanted without getting fat.

Alone again, Gray occupied himself by making sure all the labels on the salsa jars faced out.

* * *

><p>That night, Gray visited Juvia again at her trailer in the carnival. "Juvia?" he whispered through the barred window, which had been left open.<p>

"Hello, Gray," she said with a smile, pushing the curtain out of the way. "How was Gray's day?"

Gray shrugged, "Oh, it was okay. My friend, Levy's, got this major crush on your Iron Dragon." Juvia laughed at that, trying to figure out how anyone would like a person like Gajeel, who was so tough and unapproachable. On the other hand, he was helping her and had already found Gray's address for her. "But my life is pretty boring," Gray said. "Tell me about yours."

"W-what?" Juvia stuttered.

"Yeah, I want to get to know you. What was your life like before you joined the carnival?"

Juvia couldn't imagine what about her childhood could be so interesting, but she went ahead and shared with him. "Well, it's rained everywhere Juvia goes since she was born. Juvia's parents tired of the constant rain, so they sent her to boarding school, where all the other kids bullied her. They'd say they wished Juvia would go on a long vacation so it would stop raining. Juvia sewed Teru Teru Bozus, Japanese dolls that were supposed to keep away rain, but they didn't work. She keeps one of them now just for sentimental purposes. Teru Teru Bozu was Juvia's only friend.

"Then, when Juvia was about to start high school, she was noticed by Carnival Umidus. At first, Juvia thought it was a good idea to join the carnival, that maybe people wouldn't just accept her rain, but applaud it. Even though Juvia was loved by the fans and had far more freedom than now, she didn't want to communicate with the other carnies, because she felt they'd only reject her, and talking would only open the door to complaints about the rain. That worked pretty well, because no one seemed to mind the rain until a year after Juvia joined. After that point, Juvia didn't like the carnival anymore. Juvia tried to leave, but she was so popular with the customers that Makarov and the others in charge didn't let her. Mr. Makarov is a kind man, but he values Juvia very much. Cana was the only one who never had a problem with the rain. She'd said, 'I can drink in any weather, so rain's no problem.' Since she and Juvia shared a trailer, that was when Juvia decided to speak to Cana and only Cana.

"And that's it: Juvia's life."

Gray felt good. They were talking and getting to know each other like any other couple would when first starting a relationship. "Wow. So, do you mind if I ask why you talk in the third person? I don't think it's bad or anything, I was just wondering."

"It's just how Juvia was raised," she said simply. But this was the answer she always used to give people back before Umidus, and it wasn't what she wanted to tell Gray. With him, she wanted to share her deepest emotions. "Actually, no. That's not the reason. Juvia started speaking like this in third grade, when the bullying began to get particularly bad. Juvia felt then that if she talked in the third person, she could pretend that she wasn't really there, that 'Juvia' was somebody else. Now, Juvia's happier, but she still prefers to use the third person because it sounds better to her."

"I see. I'm so sorry you felt like that, but I actually find it cute how you talk," he told her, eliciting a blushing smile from the blue-haired girl. But now Gray was beginning to feel a bit awkward. Sure, he wanted to get to know her, and he liked her a lot, but he was a guy, and he didn't put a lot of weight in the whole emotions deal.

"What about Gray?"

"Hm?"

"How did Gray grow up?"

"Oh, well, my life wasn't exactly normal, but it's not as intense as yours," Gray said, scratching his head. "There was this really bad fire that destroyed a lot of my town when I was eight. My parents died in it, and I was taken in by a woman named Ur. Before me, she already had one adopted son, Lyon, but she raised us both by herself and did a pretty good job of it. She left, moved farther north, when Lyon and I were twelve and couldn't take us with her. Lyon ran away after that, and I don't know what he did, but I know he's recently joined up with some friends and doing well. I was taken in by a couple foster homes, and now that I'm out of high school—just graduated—I live by myself in this little apartment in town."

"Gray says his life isn't interesting, but Juvia thinks it is!"

Gray blushed a bit, "Oh, well, thanks, Juvia."

Juvia glanced at the clock on her wall. "Gray should go. Juvia would hate for someone to find him and get him in trouble."

Gray checked his watch and noticed that he'd already been there longer than the previous two nights, so he agreed with her and took off.

Juvia immediately jumped into action. She changed out of her pajamas and into an outfit Cana'd bought for her. If she was going to do this, she couldn't very well do it in her Rain Woman outfit, which consisted of a simple, dark blue dress with a matching shawl and hat, which she ware with brown boots that reached the middle of her thigh. Now, she wore a white and blue dress with a wave pattern at the bottom, a blue vest, a white and blue hat with a lighter blue square-swirl symbol on it, pale periwinkle gloves that almost came to her shoulders, and white boots with blue at the tops and bottoms. From a distance, she wouldn't be all that recognizable but for her hair, and there wasn't much she could do about that. It was already short, so if she really needed to, she could tuck it up into the hat. If it had been longer, she may have cut it.

"You ready?" Cana asked.

Juvia nodded, and Cana ran out to grab Gajeel, who was waiting outside his trailer. Gajeel and Cana came back into the trailer, and Gajeel ate off the lock that held the door between Cana's side and Juvia's closed. The sides were separated by bars, like those on the windows, which always made Juvia feel like she was in a jail, but now, with a few possessions packed in a light bag, she was walking free.

Juvia gave Cana a big hug, knowing that they may never see each other again. Both girls were crying, but happy that Juvia was finally breaking out. Neither cared that Gajeel hadn't known Juvia could speak until then, but really, it wasn't a huge deal compared to what they were doing.

After one last goodbye, Gajeel and Juvia ran off into the darkness, leaving the sleeping carnies of Carnival Umidus behind them. Gajeel'd been meaning to leave for a while, but he was really on the fence about it. It was only when Cana asked him to help Juvia that he decided he wanted to ditch the carnival as well. Cana told him that if he and Juvia left at the same time, it would be easier for both of them to not be caught. Of course, he knew she was bullshitting most of it, but he agreed to help anyway, because he felt bad for the girl.

"Here we are, Gray's apartment building," Gajeel said, leading her up the fire escape to Gray's room. Luckily, the window was unlocked. "I'll just leave you here. You sure he's cool with this?"

Juvia hadn't asked Gray if she could hide in his apartment, because she had wanted it to be a surprise. She had never doubted the strength of her and Gray's love, but now Gajeel was making her feel like a jerk for forcing herself into his life.

"Yes, Gajeel, of course!" she snapped at him, angry that he'd try to infect the perfect romance she had with Gray by making her doubt it.

"Okay, fine." He rolled his eyes and began to leave, but turned back one more time before climbing back down the fire escape. "It's nice that you can talk. And that you have a name. Have a nice life, Juvia. Good luck."

"You too, Gajeel." And just like that, Juvia was free of the carnival, all alone outside the window of Gray's apartment. She had butterflies in her stomach threatening to burst her open. Although her hands were shaking uncontrollably, she managed to get a good enough grip on the cold, rain-slick window to open it.

Hoping she wouldn't make too much of a mess, as she was wet with rain, Juvia slid through the window and shut it silently behind her. She paused for a moment to take in Gray's room: the gray-blue walls, photos of gorgeous ice sculptures framed and hanging, a bulletin board covered in awards for ice-sculpting and a calendar with a picture of a shark.

_He never mentioned he was good at sculpting ice_, Juvia noted. Approaching the bulletin board, she saw that the most recent award was from six years before. The board hung over a dark wooden desk, on which there was a laptop, a jar of pencils and pens, a lamp, and a few photos. One photo showed three people standing in front of a line of fantastic ice sculptures. There were two young boys—one with black hair and one with white—and a woman with dark hair. The boys, who Juvia took as young Gray and Lyon, were covered in ribbons and medals and holding trophies. The woman, Ur, looked like she couldn't have been more proud of her boys. _Did he stop sculpting when Ur left?_

Setting the picture down, Juvia turned and saw a massive bookshelf and, next to it, a bed. In the bed lay Gray, sound asleep. Juvia didn't want to disturb him; she was intruding enough as it was. So, she left his bedroom and set her boots by his front door, next to his shoes, and returned to sit at his desk and wait for him to wake.

* * *

><p>AN. Wow. Longest chapter by far.


	5. The Best Kind of Prize is a Surprise

With one final check in the mirror, Lucy Heartfilia walked out of her closet, dressed and ready to start the day, only to find Natsu rummaging through her key drawer. Natsu was her best friend and was always showing up in her apartment uninvited, but that was normal, right? At least it was her keys and not her underwear, which had become a favorite drawer of his.

"Natsu what are you doing here?" she demanded, striding over and forcefully shutting the drawer.

"Why do you have so many keys?" he shot back childishly.

Lucy shrugged, "I have a lot of things to lock, and I should really start locking my drawers if you're going to keep doing this kind of thing every time I leave you alone here. But seriously, what are you doing here?"

Natsu hunched his back a bit a darted his eyes back and forth as if someone was about to pop out from behind Lucy's bed. Deciding the coast was clear, he put a hand to his mouth and whispered, "Remember Erza's fortune from the carnival a few days ago?"

"The one about watching out for the boy with red on his face?" Lucy confirmed, and Natsu nodded enthusiastically. "What about it?"

The pink-haired boy reached into his pocket a pulled out a small, thin picture frame with a photo in it. Lucy snatched the photo and examined it. It showed two children—ten years old or so. The girl had short, red hair and was clearly Erza. The boy next to her had a very mature expression on his face for a ten-year old. He was eye-catching not only for his bright blue hair but also for the red design on the right side of his face, part on his forehead and part under his eye.

"Natsu… where'd you get this?" she wondered.

Nastu just stared at her, and with a perfectly straight face, said, "Took it from Erza's, where else?"

Lucy then proceeded to sock Natsu right in the jaw. "Natsu!" she scolded. "Take his back to Erza's _right now_, and don't ever let her know you took it, or she'll beat the living shit out of you!"

"Oh yeah," he said, rolling his eyes and taking the picture back. "Like I was going to just walk in all like, 'Hey, Erza, just returning the precious photo I stole from you.' But anyway, my point was, that Alberona chick said the red-faced guy was in Erza's future, but she was wrong. He was in her past."

"So? You stole that just to prove me that a small detail of a carnival fortune-teller's prediction was faulty? That's necessary alright."

"No need to take that tone with me."

"Just go!" Lucy shouted, shoving him out of her apartment, the photo in hand.

Little did they know, that boy with the blue hair and red facial mark was walking down the street at that very moment, trying to decipher a map of the town in order to find a certain someone's apartment.

* * *

><p>The Fullbuster alarm clock buzzed, and an arm extended from the mass of blanket to slap it quiet. <em>This is it<em>, Juvia thought. _The moment of truth._ She was fidgeting in the chair, too restless for anticipation like this. Staying with him was her only hope of escaping the carnival, for she was sure the minute she stepped outside—new outfit or not—at least one carnie would spot her and snatch her.

Gray sat up, saw Juvia, and blinked a few times, trying to comprehend—something that shouldn't be attempted first thing in the morning. "Whaaaat-?"

"Juvia can explain," she said a little to fast. "Gajeel, who Gray knows as the Iron Dragon, helped Juvia out of Carnival Umidus last night, and this was the only place she could go."

She would've said more, but Gray held up a hand and slid his legs over the side of the bed to get up. "No, it's fine, just give me a minute to wake up first." Then, as if forgetting that Juvia, a girl who wasn't yet used to his habits as Erza or Lucy might be, Gray stood up and walked out of the room, completely naked.

Juvia just sat and stared at one of his ice-sculpting medals, trying to clear her head. _This is moving a bit too fast, right_? she thought a bit sarcastically as she waited for him to return.

"Hey, do you want some tea?" Gray asked, popping back into the room for a second, wearing pair of dark green pants now.

"Y-yes, tea would be nice, thanks, Gray."

Gray tilted his head a little. "You okay? You aren't sick or anything, are you?"

"No, Juvia's fine," she assured him, calming back down.

"Okay, I get it. You had a rough night," he said as he went to pour the tea he'd started brewing. He came back with too hot cups of a peach-colored tea that tasted like autumn. "Here, get yourself comfortable and tell me everything."

Juvia sipped her tea and explained the events of the night before in as much detail as she knew.

Gray took a breath, set his empty glass on his desk and glanced at the clock. "Well, I work the morning shift at the grocery story, so I have to go or I'll be late, and my boss already doesn't like me too much. But please, make yourself at home, and I'll be back by lunch. Help yourself to anything in the fridge, but don't open the freezer—it's been acting a bit weird lately. And obviously, don't go outside, and stay away from the windows if you can help it. It'd suck if you were caught so soon," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, it would," Juvia replied, trying to laugh. He'd taken her situation and drop-in so easily, she couldn't believe it was real.

"Well, I'll see you." Gray gave Juvia a quick kiss and left.

The door shut behind him, and Juvia was left in a crushing silence. Despite the surge of energy Gray's kiss had sent through her, she hadn't slept at all the night before and was more exhausted than anything else. So, she fell down on Gray's bed and took a nap.

When Juvia awoke, she straightened out her dress and hair and made Gray's bed. Feeling a bit hungry, she made her way into the kitchen to have a snack—Gray had said she could if wanted to. She opened the door of the refrigerator, but the breeze that flowed from it and misted on her face was a lot colder than she was expecting, and it was too late to realize that what she'd opened was the freezer.

No, the freezer was definitely not broken. Gray had just been trying to hide something. Standing and the shelves of the freezer were tiny ice sculptures of people. Juvia had to assume they were all based on real people—though she wished the two girls with quite a bit of ice on their chests weren't—because one looked exactly like her.

Juvia took the ice representation of herself from the freezer and held it with the most delicacy she could muster, for it looked so fragile. Did she look that fragile in real life? But what Juvia really wondered was why Gray had tried to hide the sculptures from her. He had enough wallspace dedicated to his old sculpting days with Lyon and Ur that it seemed odd to Juvia that he wouldn't be more excited to show her these. She assumed it was because the sculpture she now held in her hands wasn't finished yet. He had yet to shave down her hair to its short spikey cut, because now the ice hung lower so that it somewhat resembled a coil wrapping around her head.

Setting herself down, Juvia picked up another sculpture, one that must've been from his imagination, for it was a cat with wings spread like a bird's, a backpack strapped to his neck, and a fish in his hands.

But this little sculpture was nearly dropped to the ground when Juvia's heart stopped. A set of knuckles knocked on the door of the apartment.

"Gray Fullbuster?" a voice called. She recognized it as Bixlow, the freak who could make objects move without touching them and went by the stage name, Puppeteer.

"Gray, Gray! You home? You home? You home?" his babies chanted. Bixlow's babies were six small, wooden beings shaped like tiny barrels with wings and faces. Not only could he move them, but they had personalities as well, and he only brought them out for special shows.

After a few minutes of no one answering the door, Juvia heard the babies' laughter and a soft thudding on the door followed by the sound of Bixlow walking away.

Too terrified of being found, Juvia shut herself in Gray's closet and would stay there until he returned from work.

Near noon, Juvia heard footsteps approach the door and stop, and after a strangely long pause, keys turning in the lock and the door flying open in a much hastier manner than the steps had been.

The footsteps flew through the apartment, accompanied by whispers of, "Juvia? Where are you? Juvia?"

Once she knew for sure that it was Gray, Juvia burst from the closet and hugged Gray, burying her pale face into his chest and just letting it all out. "Juvia's afraid, Gray."

Gray tried to calm her down, but also wanted to get her to look at the note he was holding in his hand. "Juvia… Juvia, now I'm a bit worried too, because I don't know what this is supposed to mean. I found this stuck to my door."

Juvia looked up to see a sheet of paper with _Gray Fullbuster, come to Carnival Umidus immediately_ in Bixlow's handwriting. "This is my problem too, now," Gray told her. "Now, of course I want you to be happy and safe, but I don't know these people, and now I could be in danger as well."

This sent a new wave of sadness washing over Juvia. "Juvia is so sorry, Gray! She doesn't want to go back to Umidus, but she knows she's a terrible inconvenience and now possible danger to Gray, who she cares about very much. So," Juvia gulped, trying to make it seam like she was calming down, when her heart rate was only increasing with every second, "so, if Gray wants, Juvia will go with him back to the carnival now, and turn herself in so Gray can live more peacefully."

"No!" Gray gasped. "No, no, no. I'm so sorry. That's not what I want." He took a deep breath. "Look, Juvia. I know I've only known you for a very short time, but you're important to me, and I want you to be happy. Cana's the only one at the carnival who knows where you are, right?"

Juvia nodded.

"And she wouldn't tell them that, so they must only suspect that I know where you are by a hunch. It's probably only because I showed more interest in you than the other people. If I pretend I don't know where you are, they'll leave me alone and we can relax."

The thumping in Juvia's chest slowed as Gray spoke. "Yes, that should work. Gray is good at these things." She wrapped her arms tighter around him and he did the same, comforting her.

"Thanks. Well, I'll go take care of this, you stay hidden. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Gray shut the door behind him, leaving Juvia to stand in the middle of his front room, all alone with only fear and hope wrestling in her head.

* * *

><p>Gray approached the entrance to the Carnival Umidus grounds and saw Cana Alberona, Mr. Makarov, Thunder God, and Puppeteer waiting for him.<p>

"Gray?" Makarov asked.

He nodded. "I got your note, what do you want?" he tried to sound genuinely confused, to really sell the idea that he had no idea who Juvia was off-stage, much less hiding her in his apartment.

"You may not know this, but a couple of our freaks have gone missing," Makarov told him plainly. For a second, beneath the need to get them back for the sake of the carnival's success, Gray felt like the old man was sincerely concerned for their safety. "Iron Dragon and Rain Woman. We noticed you had shown a particular interest in Rain Woman when you visited the carnival, and we just thought we'd ask if you'd seen her around town or knew anything about where she could be."

"The pale girl with the blue hair? Yeah, she was my favorite of your freaks, no offense, guys: you're pretty cool as well. But I'm sorry, I haven't seen her around," Gray said as authentically as he could.

Cana met his eyes for a moment, her expression asking the real questions. _Is she safe and well? Was the plan too foolish? It's not too much trouble, is it?_

Makarov sighed. "In that case, you can go home. We open for the day in less than an hour, and there are still some things we have to set up."

"That's it? Oh," Gray breathed, putting more emphasis into the innocence behind his relief. "Your note made me expect something much more, well… grim."

Thunder God and Puppeteer laughed. "Sorry if that scared you a bit," Puppeteer apologized.

"No, it's fine. Well, good luck with finding them!" Gray wished them and waved over his shoulder before leaving. When the other carnies weren't looking, Gray gave Cana as discrete of a reassuring nod as he could. _Juvia's in good hands, _he wanted to tell her.

On his way home, he saw Levy walking in the direction of Umidus and looking very nervous. He didn't say hi or anything, because he was in a bit of a rush, but it did put his mind at ease. If they were questioning her—who was completely innocent according to Juvia's story-the same as him, they must feel that there was a very low chance the missing freaks were hiding out with new friends.

He got to his building and sprinted up the stairs to his apartment, not wanting Juvia to be alone and worrying any longer than she had to be. He softly knocked on the door. "Juvia? It's me. Don't freak out when I open the door." He turned the knob, just picturing how she could've reacted, thinking he was a carnie come to take her back.

Met by silence, he shut the door behind him, and out of nowhere, a blurring mass of blue and white pounced on him, hugging him tighter than anyone had before. "Oh, Gray," she whispered. "Juvia was so worried."

"Well, you don't have to be," he said, thinking about how cute she was being with all this. "Everything's fine for now, but we should still be careful."

"Of course," she agreed, releasing him.

Gray smiled. "Well, since you'll be staying for a while, I should go out and run some errands."

"No, no, no! Gray doesn't need to do anything more for Juvia. Just letting her stay here is enough, and she's perfectly comfortable already!" Juvia insisted.

Despite her claims, Gray told her he only had to pick up a couple things and would be back soon. And yet again, she was alone in his apartment.

* * *

><p>Gray walked back from the grocery store, a bag of Juvia's things in one hand, and arm around a flower pot that contained a blue orchid. <em>She'll like this<em>, he'd thought as he was buying it, _the colors match her perfectly_.

He opened the door and set his bag and the pot down on the coffee table. "Juvia!" he called, and she appeared from the kitchen, holding a cup of earl grey tea. "Here, um, I got a few things for you. Toothbrush," he said, taking a blue and white toothbrush from the bag, "'cause I don't think you brought one with you. And, um, some girly hair products. Shampoo and conditioner, you know. I figured you'd rather use something made for women than the man-hair stuff I have." He noticed Juvia didn't look particularly happy, but she was staring at the orchid. "Oh, and I got a flower too. Thought it'd pretty the place up a bit. I hadn't noticed till now, what with the busy day we've had, but it's a bit of a mess in here. Juvia? You okay?"

Juvia stopped staring into space and looked at Gray. "Yes, Juvia's fine. She just feels bad now because Gray's doing so much for her, and she never even asked beforehand if this was okay. She didn't even plan ahead enough to bring anything."

"Hey," he said, giving her a soft kiss, "Don't worry about it."

Juvia and Gray hung out the rest of the afternoon, and when it was time for dinner, Gray whipped up some noodles, displaying unexpected cooking skills, and then, it was night. They talked for a bit longer, but Gray had work the next morning, so both her in bed by ten.

Juvia sat on the couch next to the coffee table, wearing Gray's sweatpants and t-shirt for pajamas. He'd told her she could get some new clothes the next day. No matter how hard she tried to fall asleep, she was kept awake by the fear that soon, she'd be too much of a burden for Gray. But on the other hand, she loved him so much, she could never allow herself to overstay her welcome or take advantage of him in any way.

She stared into the petals of the orchid. They looked like a tie-die of blue and white, the blue seeping into the white from the edges of three large petals on each flower and a small cluster of petals in the middle. The individual flowers lined up along the stem as it stretched out and was held up by a smooth stick. She was lucky to have someone as generous and caring as Gray.

* * *

><p>Across town, Erza stood on the balcony of her large apartment, looking over the streets and into the horizon, where the ocean was just visible.<p>

Behind her, a knock at the door caught her attention, and she wondered who could be visiting that that late hour. She strode to the door and opened it to find a tall, young man with medium blue hair, brown eyes, and that distinguishing red mark on the right side of his face.

"J-Jellal? Jellal Fernandez?" she wondered, barley able to stutter out his name.

"Yeah, it's me, Erza. I'm so glad to see you!" Jellal pulled Erza into a warm hug, but she soon pushed him away.

"I'm sorry, I just… I thought you were dead. You contracted that disease, Uzerephoma, and died. I know you died. I was there."

Jellal took a deep breath. "I guess this is more complicated than I thought, then. I should come back tomorrow. It's too late at night now."

Erza couldn't believe what was going on. "Wait! It's only ten-thirty. Get in here and tell me what's going on. What happened?"

"I'll come back tomorrow," he said simply and walked to the elevator.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry the chapters keep taking longer and longer as we go (but they get long er and longer too, so it's cool, right?). That was a terrible cliff-hanger last chapter, but i guess this is too. Next week's acen, so it'll probably be another two-week wait. Have fun!


	6. An Eventful Morning

Erza Scarlet was never one to let something important slip through her fingers.

"Damnit, Jellal!" the red-haired warrior roared and pounced on her old friend.

She clung to him, hanging off his back, until he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Trying to get up, he only managed to flip himself over so that she was straddling him. A hand on each of his shoulders, she pinned him down and demanded. "Tell me everything. Now."

Jellal chuckled, "Same old Erza. When'd you get so strong?"

"You bastard," Erza spat, tears welling up in her angry eyes. "Eight years ago, I know you caught Uzerephoma and died, so tell me: how are you alive now, and why are you here?"

"Fine. But could we please discuss this in your apartment and without you sitting on me?"

Relaxing, Erza released his shoulders and stood, immediately grabbing his hand and twisting his arm behind his back. "Fine, but you had better have a good reason for what you pulled," she said and pushed him back through her door.

"Missed you."

"Missed you too."

* * *

><p>The morning sun stretched its beams through the glass of Gray's windows, shining on his face. Waking up, he squinted into the light and wondered, <em>Why is it so bright?<em>

He stood, noticing that he'd succeeded in not completely stripping down during the night, which was a bit of a habit of his. Somehow, he distinctly remembered being only partially awake at some point in the night—between dreams, perhaps—and taking his boxers off, but that itself may have been a dream. Now that he was up, he pulled the rest of the curtain out of the way so that the entire window glowed with sunlight, illuminating the room. Feeling the need to celebrate the good weather, he opened the window and stuck his head out. A warm breeze rushed through his black hair, and he closed his eyes, just breathing in the perfect summer day.

However, something in the back of his half-asleep mind knew that something wasn't right. For some reason, this weather was supposed to be strange…?

"Juvia!"

Realizing what the lack of rain meant, Gray ran to the living room in search of his Rain Woman. The blanket on the couch looked sat-on, but not slept in. "Juvia! Juvia, are you still here?" he called, knowing it was unlikely for him to get an answer.

Her clothes were still folded at the foot of the couch, though. And her boots were next to the door, her hat in the closet. Then again, if she was really desperate, Gray wouldn't put it past her to up and leave in his t-shirt and sweats without any shoes. She was a bit crazy, but a type of crazy he was coming to love. He liked how naïve she could be one minute, but serious the next. How cute she was when she hugged him. How her cheeks would flush if he walked around without a shirt, which was a solid majority of the time.

And now she was gone.

He strode back into his room and turned the TV to the news channel to check out the weather. Maybe he could find some clues there as to how to find her.

"Good morning, Magnolia," the weather woman greeted her audience. "Looks like some bright, clear skies today, something we haven't had in nearly a week. If any of you have heard of the Carnival in town, Carnival Umidus, they're claiming rain follows one of their freaks, Rain Woman, wherever she goes, and since she's now gone missing, should we assume she took the gloom with her? We'll leave the superstition to our viewers. The high today will be eighty-seven, and the low—"

Gray shut the power off, not wanting some lady with a microphone to tell him what he already knew: Juvia wasn't in town. The map they'd shown in the corner of the screen hadn't indicated any rain in surrounding cities either.

_How far could she have gotten in one night without any shoes?_

Gray sat down on the bed, rubbing his head as if to force an idea to come to him. He'd only known her for a very short time, but he was beginning to love her, and knowing she was out there on her own… he couldn't rest not knowing if she was okay. Was she even alive? Is that why the rain stopped? He couldn't let himself think that.

Something long, thin, and warm slowly crept from under his blanket, and he didn't even notice until it was tight around his waist. "Gray?"

This startled him so much, he nearly jumped out of his boxers. Though not naked, he did leap from the bed and spin around to see Juvia peak her big, ultramarine eyes out from under his blanket, her arm, which she had wrapped around his middle, was stretched out to him, but fell as she realized that he wasn't happy.

"Juvia's sorry she's in Gray's bed!" she exclaimed, trying to defend herself for what she thought he was unhappy about. She pushed the blanket off herself, and slid her legs over the edge of the bed to sit up. At some point in the night, she'd lost her pants, but the shirt was long enough, and who was Gray to judge someone for being a bit scantily clad? "Juvia couldn't sleep last night, and the living room got so lonely. Juvia is in no way complaining about the accommodations, for Gray has been nothing but perfectly hospitable. She only felt like it would be easier to sleep if she spent the night with him, at around one in the morning, she slid in with Gray and fell right asleep."

"No, don't be sorry. It's perfectly fine," he told her, realizing with embarrassment what must've happened to her pants, as he, in his only 10% awake dream-state thought they were his own boxers. "You just worried me, is all. I woke up, and the skies were clear, so I thought you had run away again."

Juvia looked to the window, but it was already beginning to drizzle again. "Juvia doesn't understand it either. Maybe it was because she was so happy, but of course, clear skies—something Juvia's never seen—can't last long. But Gray should know, Juvia would never run from him!"

Gray embraced Juvia, running a hand through her short, straight hair. "I know that, but a lot of people fear things they no won't come true."

"Gray, Juvi-" she began, but was cut off by the ring of the phone.

Gray stood, showing a bit of annoyance that Juvia wasn't completely sure she wasn't just imagining, and answered the phone. "Yeah?"

"Well, someone's happy to hear from me," Erza said and added sarcastically, "I didn't interrupt anything important, did I?"

"No," Gray sighed and looked back at Juvia, thinking that what he just said was truly a lie. "Anyway, what's going on?"

"I wanted to see you, Natsu, and Lucy for lunch and talk to you about something important. Are you available?"

"Yeah, I can do lunch," Gray told her. "But what is this? Should we be worried?"

Erza laughed a bit, and Gray thought he heard someone else snicker as well on her end of the line. "No, no, I'm fine. I'll explain it all at lunch. We'll pick you up at twelve-thirty, if that's good for you."

"Twelve-thirty's fine. I'll see you guys then."

"Bye."

"Bye," Gray said and hung up the phone. "Erza has something she wants to tell me and a couple of my friends over lunch, so I'll be leaving at twelve-thirty."

Juvia knew it wasn't her place, but she had always been the jealous type and had to ask, "Is Erza the one with the long hair or the side half-up?"

"Along hair. Lucy wears her hair up, but she'll be there too. And Natsu. " It took a moment for Gray to process what Juvia had said, but when he did… "Hang on, how do you know what Erza and Lucy look like? You've never seen them, have you?"

Juvia stopped breathing for a minute and scolded herself for letting that detail slip. She knew of Erza and Lucy from the small ice-sculptures in the freezer, but Gray had told her not to look in the freezer. "C-C-Cana had told Juvia," she breathed, improvising an explanation. "She said she had told the fortunes of the two girl's Gray'd been seen with. It was a childish thing going around the carnival in order to tease Juvia." Juvia turned away from Gray, blushing furiously. She hoped this didn't' make her seem too jealous or obsessed.

"Oh, well…" Gray was relieved to know she hadn't come across his sculptures, for he wasn't done with hers, and didn't want her to see until it was perfect. He still had to do the hair. "Well, put your pants on. I'm going to get dressed, and then I want to talk to you."

"Okay," Juvia said, as Gray disappeared into his closet. She pulled his sweats back on, and he soon returned wearing pants as well.

"Come over here to the computer," he said, waving her over. He pulled up a chair for her, and they sat, looking at the screen. "You need new clothes. I don't know where your dress came from, but whether or not it's what you wear for Rain Woman, it looks pretty carnival, and you'll stand out too much when you do end up going outside." Juvia stared at him. "What? You thought you were going to be stuck in here for the rest of your life? No, when Umidus leaves, we'll give it a while and then, when we decide it's safe, you can go about normal life here in Magnolia. But first, I found some nice websites where you can find some cute clothes for pretty cheap. And no, I don't mind getting them for you at all. You need them and have nothing."

"After Umidus leaves, Juvia will stay in Magnolia?" she wondered. Happy for the clothes, which she agreed she was in need of, but also mesmerized by the idea of staying close to Gray.

"Of course! It's not like you have anywhere else to go, right? Stay here as long as you want, please."

Juvia couldn't believe Gray's hospitality. Is this how people normally treated runaway Carnival freaks? She hoped it wasn't.

"Here's my credit card," Gray said, handing her the small, plastic rectangle. "Buy a couple outfits. From these places, it shouldn't come to over a hundred, but-Holy crap, I'm going to be late for work!" he said noticing the time.

"Juvia's sorry she made Gray worry and lose track of the time!"

"No, no, it's fine, really," he assured her, throwing on a shirt. She could make him worry all she wanted—he was the one who stripped her in their sleep. "Go ahead, get what you think looks good. I probably won't be back until after lunch, so I'll see you then."

"Thanks so much for the clothes, Gray!"

"No problem. Good bye," Gray said, a left the apartment, running for the grocery store.

* * *

><p>Gray's shift ended at twelve, and he called Erza to tell her not to pick him up at his apartment. He'd just meet them at the restaurant. "Where are we going, again?"<p>

"You know, that place on fifteenth, I forget the name…"

"No, I know where you mean. See you."

"See you." Gray walked to the restaurant, a cute little place with a good menu, but never too busy.

Lucy and Natsu were already sitting at a table near the back, and they waved him over. "Hey, Gray," Lucy said. "Have you seen Erza yet?"

"What do you mean?" Gray wondered.

"Well, she sat us here and then said she'd be right back and left, but that was fifteen minutes ago."

"Seriously, like, come on, Erza. What's taking so long?" Natsu grumped.

"Ah, don't worry, I'm sure she's got her reasons," Gray told them, taking a seat.

A few moments later, Erza came walking through the restaurant with a strange man in tow, someone Gray had never seen before.

"Is that…?" Lucy whispered to Natsu.

"Oh, my god, it is," Natsu breathed.

Gray didn't know what they were talking about, but Erza soon stood in front of them with the guy and introduced him. "Guys, this is my childhood friend, Jellal Fernandez."


	7. That Feeling in the Pit of The Stomach

Jellal and Erza sat down with the confounded trio, and over lunch, explained who Jellal was and why he was in town.

"I'm so happy to have you back," Erza said to him after he'd told Natsu, Lucy, and Gray what he'd told her the night before: that he'd faked his death so he could leave and live his life how he wanted to and not how he was expected to. "But you could've run away with out that whole ordeal, or"—her tone changing to tease him and give his shoulder a playful smack—"grown a pair and just gone and done whatever you wanted without running away at all."

Jellal laughed, "I know, I know. Realized that about two seconds after 'dying.' Just glad to see you again."

"I know, me too," Erza agreed, hugging his arm and leaning into his shoulder.

The table was awkwardly silent for a solid three minutes.

"Get a room!"

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded.

"What?"

Erza pulled away from Jellal, blushing. "No, I'm sorry Natsu," she blushed, and the conversation turned elsewhere, the five of them talking as if they were all old pals just casually chilling.

Out of nowhere, Gray felt something in the pit of his stomach grow heavy and uncomfortable, just giving him that feeling like something wasn't right, like the people or setting were wrong somehow. Sighing, Gray looked at his happily conversing friends: the newly reunited couple, Jellal and Erza, ready to PDA all over Magnolia (even though he'd never seen Erza as the PDA type until now), and Natsu and Lucy, two young, not-so-bad-looking people barely still "only friends," basically an item. Of course, Gray sat there, slouching in his chair, his arms crossed over his shirt, a half-eaten burger on the table in front of him, thinking about how he was the only one there without someone special. Until Carnival Umidus was forgotten enough for Juvia to be in public safely, he'd always be this.

But he didn't mind too much, he loved Juvia, so he was perfectly willing to look like a loner if it meant her security and freedom.

And yet, that I'm-not-where-I'm-supposed-to-be feeling wouldn't leave his stomach.

"Well, if everyone's finished, do you guys want to start heading out?" Erza suggested.

"Sure," Lucy said, standing, taking Natsu's hand and walking with Jellal and Erza, who were hand-in-hand, and Gray, who lagged behind a bit, to the register, where they each paid for their own meal. Natsu paid for Lucy, claiming it was only because she'd paid for him in the past, and Jellal wanted to pay for Erza, but she wouldn't let him.

Gray handed over his money and followed the others out. Looking at his watch, he realized that lunch had taken a lot longer than he'd thought, and it was already three o'clock. "Wow, guys. I should head home."

"Oh, Gray! Come one, stay and hang out with us!" Lucy begged.

"Nah, I really have a lot of stuff for work I need to finish, so I'll see you guys later," he said, backing away and waving, but Erza wouldn't have it.

"Oh, no you don't," she said, letting go of Jellal for the first time all afternoon and wrap her arm around Gray's neck and drag him back to the group. "You spend all of your time either at work or cooped up in your house. Today, you're hanging out with us."

And so, Gray was tugged along, through a tour of Magnolia for Jellal, a quick run through the hiking trails in the woods, and a leisurely walk down the pier. Gray thought he would finally be free after they hauled him to dinner with them, which didn't end until eight, but he was wrong: they insisted that he come with them to a movie as well. The "lunch" as Erza had lead him to expect, lasted until ten-thirty.

* * *

><p>Gray opened and closed the door of his apartment as silently as he could, strolling in close to eleven and expecting Juvia to either be asleep or getting there. Taking his shirt off because he was more comfortable without it and tossing it onto the couch, he quietly walked towards the energetic, rough, liberated sound of music coming from his room.<p>

Gray's full-length mirror, which usually lived in his closet, was propped up against the wall in the middle of the room. Lying on the bed were Juvia's blue vest, pale periwinkle cloves, hat, and long, sleeveless, white jacket with a wave pattern along the bottom. The blue-haired girl was dancing in the center of the room wearing her dark blue, strapless dress that went down to her knees and laced up the back. He never noticed that it laced in the back or was strapless because she always wore the white jacket over it. Sometimes they looked like one dress.

"_But I don't waste my time_

_Crazy is just fine_

'_Cause I like where I'm going_

_I, I won't justify_

_The way I live my life_

'_Cause I'm the one livin' it_

_And you're just wasting you're time_

_Trying to throw me line_

_When you're the one drowning_

_I like where I'm at on my back _

_Floating down on my own riptide_

_The water is fine!"_

The voice from the computer sang, and Gray just leaned against the doorframe, watching Juvia dance to it, oblivious to his presence.

She suddenly stopped dancing and froze, staring at him and blushing. "Oh, Gray's home," was all she said.

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't know this was meant to be an all-day thing. I feel bad for just leaving you here all alone like that."

"No, no, Gray doesn't have to apologize," Juvia said. "Juvia can be alone as long as she has too. She doesn't need babysitting."

Gray shrugged and looked at his bed. "So what did you do all day, play dress-up?"

Juvia's face turned even redder. "Well, after Juvia ordered a few outfits from those sites, like Gray told her to, she tried to see how many different ways she could put together what she already has so it's more useful."

"Ah, I see," Gray said, slightly amused. "And what did you find out?"

"Well, it wasn't very successful in terms of making many outfits from just one, since the only ways to really wear these clothes are the dress with the jacket or the dress without, so…. Then Juvia just felt like wearing her dress without the jacket."

"Well, it looks cute."

"Thanks."

Gray stepped forward so that he was right in front of Juvia and said quietly, "It looks _really_ cute."

Juvia smiled and kissed him.

Gray slid his arms around her waist, and she reached up to bury her hands in his black hair. This kiss was much more passionate than any they'd previously shared. Soon, they were full on making out, and Gray's hands began to wander. One came up her side so that his thumb was suspiciously close to her breast. The other fiddled with the strings of the lacing on her back. Juvia smiled between kisses and pulled herself closer to him, her one leg bending up to his hip.

Taking this as permission, Gray tugged at the string he'd been fiddling with and the laces untied, loosening a bit. They stopped making out so Gray could try to focus on loosening the laces enough for the dress to slip off, which wasn't much.

Juvia couldn't believe what was happening. Before she knew it, Gray was sliding down her body, taking the dress with him, and she couldn't tell if she was nervous or excited. By the time she was stepping over the crumpled dress at her feet and into Gray's arms, she'd decided on excited. Very excited. And so happy he was finally showing the same feelings she'd kept hidden in her mind, hoping she could be more to him.

Gray put his hands to Juvia's shoulders and held her in front of him, taking in the sight of her. She was still wearing her blue, strapless bra and blue underwear. "Are all of your clothes blue?" he asked jokingly.

"Juvia loves the color blue," she said, gently touching the blue tattoo he had on the right side of his chest. She saw it everyday when he walked around the apartment shirtless, but she'd never bothered ask what it meant, and at the moment, she had better things to focus on.

Gray fumbled a bit with the clasp of her bra, struggling in a way that made Juvia feel good: being too experienced isn't exactly a great sign. To avoid killing the mood with his prolonged struggle, Juvia reached back, stilled his frustrated hands, and unclasped the bra herself.

When it fell loose, Gray took the blue undergarment, and tossed it to the side, never taking his eyes off of Juvia's bare chest in front of him until he tore his eyes away to look up at hers, which were smiling, as his happiness made her happy.

Suddenly very eager, Juvia grabbed Gray's hand and jumped onto the bed, towing him along. She laid down on the side that didn't have any clothes on it, and he positioned himself so that he was partially next to her and partially over her. Completely elated by the fact that he and Juvia were moving forward in their relationship so well (and he was getting/about to get some great action), Gray reached a hand over and touched the soft skin of Juvia's breast.

She grinned, loving how the touch tickled in just the right way. When Gray got a bit more into it, however, touching and kissing them more, she knew she should like it, and part of her did, but she also had this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach like she should be somewhere or doing something else. She felt like something was wrong, and while she knew this was untrue, she couldn't shake the feeling and soon became uncomfortable.

"Um, Gray?"

"Juvia?" Gray responded immediately. He hoped he hadn't done anything to make her feel bad, and he prayed he wasn't just unskilled with boobs. "What's wrong?"

"J-Juvia loves Gray very much, but she just doesn't feel like the timing for all this is right. She wanted to earlier, she really did want to do what she and Gray are doing now but… now that it's actually happening… she feels like they might be going a bit fast."

Juvia braced herself for Gray's disappointment and anger that she'd lead him on, but it never came. "That's okay, Juvia," he said. "I understand just how you feel."

"Gray does?"

"Of course!" he assured her, lying down next to her and wrapping his arms around her. She snuggled into his chest happily. "Nothing would make me happier than for us to do everything we want while both of us are comfortable with it."

"Thanks, Gray," Juvia whispered, hugging him and giving his lips a little peck.

After lying like that for a while, the couple fell asleep in each other's arms, the light from the moon shining through the window, which was covered in raindrops, though the pitter-patter on the glass stopped hours before.

* * *

><p>AN: Inching it's way up in maturity. I dont' think it'll ever get too serious, though... unless u readers want that. ;)

"Riptide" by Sick Puppies is the song Juvia was listening to. I would paste a link, but i tried and it wasn't cooperating, so you'll have to look it up yourself if u want to listen to the whole thing. i love this song on its own, but i also think it is a great song for fairy tail and i really want to make a gruvia amv out of it sometime. listen to it, check it out, enjoy its awesome.


	8. Out and About and Attractive

A few days later, life for Juvia and Gray began to get even sweeter. For one, the clothes Juvia'd ordered arrived outside Gray's door in a neat little package. Two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts, three shirts, and a casual dress from the websites Gray'd shown her all cost less than $100 dollars together.

"Thanks so much, Gray!" Juvia said, hugging him. She was trying all the clothes on and currently wearing one of the pairs of shorts and the white blouse.

"It was my pleasure," Gray told her. "Plus, it's sort of fun having this little fashion show."

Juvia laughed and posed so that she was holding out the edges of her unbuttoned shirt in front of her, her side to Gray. "Juvia likes modeling."

"Well you should try the dress on," Gray said handed it to her, still folded up. "I can't believe it was so cheap."

"Juvia can't either!" she said from the closet, where she was changing. When she walked out to show him how it looked, he was floored. The dress was tight and short, alternating light and very dark blue horizontal stripes. The straps that ran over her smooth shoulders were made of chain and sparkled almost as much as her eyes. "H-how does Juvia look?"

"Juvia looks great."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Juvia's face flushed. "Oh, well, thanks, Gray."

"Hey, what day is it?"

Juvia thought for a moment and then realized what Gray was trying to remember. "Ha! It's Friday, Gray! Carnival Umidus is leaving town today!"

"You know," Gray said, appearing almost lost in thought. "We should celebrate. Let's go out tonight."

"What?" Juvia wondered, stunned by his suggestion.

"Yeah," Gray told her, as if there was no reason for this to be unexpected. "Let's go out to dinner and celebrate. You can disguise yourself enough that people won't immediately recognize you. Plus, the carnival's gone. No matter how much people like something, once it leaves town, they forget about it. You'll be fine."

"But it's still raining," she reminded him. "People will know Juvia's still in Magnolia because the rain hasn't stopped."

"Juvia, listen to me. You'll be fine."

Juvia nodded, smiled, and planted an excited kiss on Gray's lips. Tonight, she'll be walking free.

* * *

><p>It was Gray's day off of work, so they spent the morning and afternoon together, just goofing off in completely childish ways that would make them look completely insane to anyone who didn't know Juvia. Gray loved the way she could jump on the bed, filled with sheer joy, and brighten up his life with her radiance. She was more a drop of liquid sunlight, to him, than a drop of rain. But if she was rain, she was the type of rain that no life could exist without, the side of rain that provides hydration to all living things.<p>

Later that evening, Juvia got dressed in a pair of her new jeans and a t-shirt. Gray walked over to her, as she was standing in front of the mirror, and handed her a gray beanie. "This is the only hat I have that you'd like. You can stuff your hair up into it, and it'll make you less recognizable. I know a lot of people remember hair better than faces."

"Great idea, Gray!" Juvia said, giddily taking the beanie and slipping it over her head, encasing her short, light blue hair inside. Her bangs, which parted slightly to the left, hung over her forehead, but other than that, her hair was out of sight. "If Gray had make-up, Juvia could add a bit of bronzer," she joked. "People tend to remember her for how pale she is, too."

"No, I don't have any bronzer," he chuckled, and soon, they were on their way out.

The couple took the train to the next town over, Hargeon. It was a beautiful and bustling port city, home to some great restaurants, and not a stop on Umidus's tour route. By going there instead of somewhere in Magnolia, they were playing it safe. Onibus was closer in the opposite direction, but the carnival was currently setting up there, so that would've just been counterproductive.

On the train, Juvia sat in the window seat, looking back to see if she could pinpoint the moment when the rainclouds left Magnolia and followed her to Hargeon. Gray laid a reassuring hand on hers, and before they knew it, the train was pulling into Hargeon Station under a light shower.

"Here's the place," Gray said when they approached the restaurant. "Stellar's. It's casual enough for comfort, but still classy enough for the occasion."

Juvia relaxed, hearing that. She'd been worrying that Gray was planning on somewhere formal, and in jeans and a t-shirt, she'd be underdressed.

They walked in, and Gray was immediately thankful they had a reservation, because the place was packed. He and Juvia followed the hostess to a booth, which was meant for four people, but so were all of the tables. It was one of the restaurant's unique, little oddities.

The couple sat and simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Umidus was gone. They could relax a bit. Of course, the carnival still wanted their star freak and namesake back, but the search effort in Magnolia wasn't very strong to begin with, since none of the citizens seemed to care all that much about a missing carnival freak. They'd be careful for a few more weeks, and then Juvia could start looking for a job.

"But you can continue living with me, of course," Gray said when he noticed how her energy muted a bit when the topic of her employment arose. "Stay as long as you like, I love having you with me. But when the day comes when you either feel like you'd rather get your own place or you just get sick of me, then we can talk about getting you situated someone of your own."

"Juvia's so appreciative of Gray's hospitality, and she cares for Gray so much. Even after that day comes, Juvia will be a part of Gray's life, no question. She'll just be out of his hair."

Gray loved Juvia, and he knew she knew that, so he found it to be some variant of amusing and adorable when she acted like she thought he didn't care about her as much as he did. She was never in his hair, only in his heart. Never a burden, always a joy. But just as he opened his mouth, two young men stopped by the table.

"Hey, Fullbuster," Lyon, his old fellow student and adoptive brother, greeted him. Lyon had spikey, white hair and black eyes. He quickly took notice of Juvia, and noting her exceptional beauty, made eye contact with her but asked a question addressed to Gray, "Who's your friend?"

"This is my girlfriend, Juvia," Gray told him as if to make him stop oogling her. "Who's yours?"

Juvia didn't even notice as Lyon introduced the friend he was with. She hadn't even glanced at him, for she was too struck by the fact that Gray had presented her as his girlfriend. Of course, they were living together and romantically involved, but the words "girlfriend" and "boyfriend" had never come up. Now that they were out and about, Gray introduces her as his girlfriend to the first person who inquired.

Gray asked who Lyon's friend was purely for the sake of asking and because he wasn't supposed to recognize him. But he did. You don't forget a face like Gajeel's all that easily.

"This is Gajeel," Lyon said, and Gajeel, seeing the flare of recognition in Gray's eyes, shook his hand.

"Hey," Gajeel said.

"Hey."

Before Gray knew it, Lyon was sliding into the booth to sit next to Juvia. "You don't mind if we join you, do you?"

"Actually, I do," Gray nearly growled.

"No, Gray, it's fine," Juvia said. Gajeel tried not to look too surprised when he heard her talk. "They can stay if they want. Juvia actually knows Gajeel, and she'd love to catch up with him. Plus, Lyon and Gray are brothers."

"Adoptive brothers," they said in unison, Gray with a bit more malice in his voice, not wanting anyone to think he and Lyon were really related.

Gajeel took the seat next to Gray and waved down a waitress. "Could we get a couple menus, please?" he asked when she stopped.

"S-s-sure…" she said, recognizing him, but not wanting to say anything for fear he'd get into trouble. Before she started looking like an idiot by the way she was staring at him, she turned to Gray. "Well, hi, Gray. How's it been? You come down here to Hargeon for any particular reason?"

"Hey, Levy," he returned. "Nope, just hanging out with some friends. You work here?"

"Yep," she said, proud of herself. "I'm starting at UH in August, so I figured I'd get a summer job here to get used to the town. The ocean's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked Gajeel. She'd heard a couple of freaks had gone missing, and at the time, she'd fantasized about the Iron Dragon running away from his carnival life to sneak into her apartment in the middle of the night, where he'd confess his love for her. Of course, Jet and Droy would get extremely jealous, but the Iron Dragon wouldn't care at all. His aloof confidence was part of what made Levy go crazy over him so much. She just knew that if she ever got him alone, well….

"Well, I'll be right back with those menus," she sputtered before leaving. Gajeel laughed to himself. She was cute, the girl who had shown some sort of extra interest in him when she came to the freak show what seemed like so long ago. Now he knew her name was Levy and that she'd be going to University of Hargeon: cute and smart.

Levy returned with a pair of menus for Gajeel and Lyon and then, with a wink only Gajeel saw, she disappeared.

All through dinner, Lyon kept trying to flirt with Juvia, and Gray kept shutting him up. "So Juvia," Lyon'd say. "Has Gray ever told you how we were ice-sculpting champions back when we were kids?"

"Yes, Juvia's heard of Gray and Lyon winning contests with their sculptures. It was Ur, their mom who taught them to sculpt, right?" she asked Gray.

"It was. She was a great teacher."

"Well, I was with her longer, and I got more medals. Gray's things never really amounted to much," Lyon boasted, but Juvia remembered all the medals and photos of young Gray holding trophies that hung on his walls and bulletin board and found Lyon winning more contests a bit hard to believe.

"So, how's Gajeel been since Juvia saw him last?" Juvia asked, throwing the conversation to him before Gray got a chance to punch Lyon's face in, which she could see he was thinking about.

"Oh, I've been fine. After I helped you move, I made my way a few towns down this way and found some work, a cheap apartment, etc. " Gajeel said. Juvia didn't know what kind of work paid so well and so quickly that he could already be so well off, and she hoped he hadn't turned to crime. "But Juvia, you were a lot quieter last time I saw you. Nice to see how talkative you've become."

"Oh, yes, Juvia's doing pretty well. Has Gajeel heard from Cana at all?"

"Hey, you're closer to her right now than I am," he laughed. "But don't worry, it's not like you'll never see her again."

"What do you mean?" Gray asked, hoping Gajeel didn't know something about Umidus finding Juvia that he didn't.

Gajeel smiled, "Nothing you have to worry about, Gray. Alberona has so much freedom at her job, she sometimes just leaves for a few days and spends them in some other town, usually somewhere sunny, so she can work on her tan. But she always comes back, so no one really cares, not even when she brings Bacchus or Bixlow with her. Sooner or later, she'll come back to Magnolia to visit Juvia."

Gray relaxed, and Juvia's smile brightened, remembering how Cana did used to do that, and it was almost certain she'd see her best friend again soon. Lyon, however, was completely lost. "Wait, what kind of job does she have where taking a couple days off for a vacation is considered 'so much freedom?' If she doesn't have sufficient vacation days, she should really have a word with HR."

"Don't worry, Lyon," Juvia said. "It's just a little complicated. Cana loves her job."

And then, the conversation left Umidus, which was a dangerous subject to begin with, for anyone could've overheard and made some kind of connection, and drifted into more normal topics.

When it came time for the check, Levy returned to the table. It didn't escape Juvia's notice that Levy had not been their waitress when she and Gray first ordered, and only started taking care of the table after Gajeel and Lyon showed up. She must've switched with their original waitress so she could get more of Gajeel. The three guys paid up, but Gajeel slipped a pen from his pocket. On the receipt, he scrawled "Iron Dragon Gajeel" in his messy handwriting along with a phone number, and handed it to Levy.

"Thanks guys. Have a nice night. See you, Gray."

"See you, Levy," Gray said, and the group got up to leave.

* * *

><p>AN: A little more Gavy for ya. I feel like I may be wrapping up the story soon, just some forewarning. But I'm glad people like it!


	9. Just Let it All Out

Gray and Juvia walked down the road in the rain. It was late already, for they'd hung out at a park in Hargeon and walked along the docks before returning to Magnolia. But now the sky was dark, and the streetlights barely lit up the rain-soaked streets. It was romantic and whimsical and ultimately just the sort of night Juvia'd been searching for.

"Juvia had such a nice time tonight," she said when they got the apartment building and Gray unlocked the door.

After opening the door for Juvia, he answered, "So did I, but it doesn't have to end just yet."

Juvia winked at him and ran up the stairs all the way up to Gray's floor, where she sprinted down the hall only to stop outside his locked door. Winded and smiling as wide as she could, she looked back at Gray, who was not far behind her.

"Well, someone's excited to be home," he joked, opening his apartment door. As he walked inside, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. They were home and safe. Carnival Umidus had left town, and their first time out together since Juvia had moved in went well. Well, besides Gajeel (who made him nervous by his connection to the carnival) and Lyon (who he hadn't gotten along with since Ur left them and flirted with Juvia all night) showed up.

It was then that Gray felt two arms slide around his chest, a head rest against his back, and a body press against him. "Juvia's so happy."

Gray took Juvia's hands in his and turned to face her. She'd taken his hat off, and of course, he couldn't help that his eyes fell down and thought about what else he'd wish would come off.

"Juvia just…" she started, but couldn't find the words. "Juvia just… just…

"Juvia just?" Gray prompted.

"Juvia just feels so lucky to have Gray in her life. She's said this many times, but she wants to make sure Gray knows it and remembers it, because Juvia feels it always."

Gray was touched. Of course, Juvia had made it very clear how grateful she was that he was letting her live with him and everything, but she had no idea how lucky Gray felt to have her there. And then he realized that it was because he never voiced those thoughts exactly. He'd said he loved her and all, but that wasn't enough to show how he felt in detail.

"Oh, Juvia," he said. "You're so sweet. I'm the one who feels lucky to have you here. Truly, you don't know the half of it, and that's my fault." He touched her cheek with his hand, his fingers in her fine, light blue hair, slightly tousled from the hat. "I don't tell you enough how amazing you are."

Juvia blushed that adorable blush that Gray loved so much, and they soon ended up on the couch. They were just talking, really, not rushing into any hot hook-up just because they'd been getting all emotional. They talked about nonsensical, meaningless things, getting closer to each other with every word.

Unsurprisingly, they did end up in a hot hookup. First, they were making out on the couch, but that proved extraordinarily uncomfortable, so they made their way to Gray's room.

But despite the obvious sexual tension both of them felt, the night didn't amount to anything they hadn't done before, and by the time most of Magnolia was asleep, so were Juvia and Gray. His arms around her and her head resting against his chest, the rain pitter-pattering against the window like it always did, as constant as their affections for each other.

* * *

><p>Yawning and stretching, Gray awoke the next morning and was filled with a sense of complete peace. As he had the night before, he took a deep breath and just absorbed the restful feeling that came with knowing that Umidus was gone from Magnolia, having abandoned their search for Juvia and Gajeel in favor of making the rest of their tour locations on time.<p>

A cool breeze rolled in from the window, and Gray noticed that for the second time since he met Juvia, he woke up to a morning of sunshine. This time, however, he understood that this could happen when she was just very happy.

The bedspace next to him was empty, so he called, "Juvia! You awake?"

No answer.

Gray immediately leapt out of the bed, pulled his boxers up off the floor and tugged them on. Something inside him hoped that Juvia'd moved to the couch when he unconsciously stripped in his sleep, and that she didn't answer because she was still sleeping. But much to his dismay, the couch was empty.

"Juvia!" he called again, but again, he was met with silence.

Frantic and confused, Gray searched the apartment, especially the closet (behind clothes, shelves, everything), for it was her hiding place of choice.

No success on that front.

He tried to tell himself that she'd only gone out for a walk. She was happy enough for the rain to stop, and Umidus was gone, so why not stroll around town and enjoy the clear skies and new freedom while she could?

Gray ran a hand through his black hair and walked back to his room to find his pants so he wouldn't look so terrible when he went out to look for her.

But when he entered the room, he froze. There was a piece of paper lying on his desk that had somehow evaded his notice before. Leaping onto it, he took the paper in his hands and read the fine handwriting. It was a letter. Addressed to him. From her.

_Dear Gray,_

_I'm very sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I thought I'd enjoy living with you, but I just keep getting this feeling that something's wrong. Not with you or Umidus or somewhere else, but with me. My life, since I was so young, was spent behind Umidus's bars, and now that I'm free, I can't spend it behind yours. I was trapped in this apartment for too long. While I do care about you, I can't stay in Magnolia any longer. When we were in Hargeon yesterday, I saw the boats. I saw the boats and they called to me. It truly took everything I had not to let go over your hand, leap onto the deck of one of those magnificent vessels, and sail out into the sea, sail out to adventure. I need to travel constantly. I need to see the world I've been locked away from for so long. I'm so grateful for all you've done for me, and I'm sorry. Maybe we'll see each other again someday, but for today, I'm on the first ship out to sea from Hargeon Port._

_Sincerely,_

_Your Rain Woman_

Gray set the letter down on the desk and fell into his chair. She was gone? Just like that?

Yes. Just like that, like a raindrop falling from a cloud, she was gone. The cloud loved the raindrop, and the raindrop said it loved the cloud, but no matter how you look at it, the drop will always have to fall eventually, and drops don't rain up.

Slowly lifting himself from the chair, Gray left his room and looked at the living room. All of her stuff was gone. The couch looked neat. Only the orchid remained.

Seeing that orchid, what Gray felt more than sadness, more than loss, more than confusion, was sheer anger. He was angry and frustrated and hurt, and he wanted this to be a trick or a dream, but it was real, and he hated it. He kicked his green pants across the floor, and it felt good. It felt good to destroy and get his rage out.

So he continued through the house. He kicked his bed, he pulled his clothes out of the closet, ripped them off their hangers, and threw them to the ground, stomping on them. He punched the couch, broke a leg of the coffee table, and smashed the vase the orchid was in.

He didn't care. She was gone and he was angry. Angry at her for leaving only a letter. Angry at her for pretending to be happy when she really wasn't. Angry at her for misleading him.

Making his way to the kitchen, he took the tea tin out of the cabinet and smashed it on the floor. Earl Gray, she'd said, was her favorite flavor because it had "Gray" in it.

Angry at her for making him love her so much. Angry at her for being too damn adorable when she knew she was only going to hurt him.

Finally, he threw open the freezer…

Angry at her.

…took out his ice sculpture of her…

Angry at her.

…and raised it above his head, ready to smash it like he had everything else…

Angry at her.

…but he couldn't.

Angry at himself.

He brought it down to his eye level and held it delicately so that his body heat didn't damage it too much. He still had to do the hair. He'd never gotten around to it. Thinking about this made him laugh. He couldn't explain why, but suddenly, this little ice-Juvia was hilarious. He set it down on the cold shelf and picked up his carving tools.

As he worked at chipping away the ice around her head until it fell perfectly into the two long pieces that framed her face, the bangs that parted slightly off-center and the short spikes that made up the rest, he hated himself. His anger wasn't at her, but at his own inability to see this coming and for letting her go. As soon as Umidus was gone, he should've taken her out to see the world. Her letter made too good a point, and now he was so angry at himself for keeping her in a cage worse than Umidus's.

_How could I have done this?_ He asked himself. _How could I have let something so amazing just slip through my fingers?_

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry this chapter's length to time it took ratio is so small. I've just been busy/writer's block. Good thing I waited to write, though, because two weeks ago, I was prepared to kill the story, but now I have the plot going off in a new direction that I really like.


	10. Devious Family

It was dark and cold when Juvia woke up. She opened her eyes to find herself on the floor in a pitch-black room. Sitting up, she felt bars around her and realized she was in a cage.

"Gray!" she shouted, clutching the bars. The last thing she could remember was falling asleep in Gray's bed, wrapped in his arms after a wonderful night in Hargeon. How did she end up in a place like this? "Is Gray there?"

A light flickered on, and after adjusting to the sudden brightness, Juvia saw that she was in a small tent about twelve feet in diameter. Standing at the flap of the tent, was Makarov. "So, you can speak," he said gloomily. "You know, when you and Gajeel left," he continued, walking toward her, "I wasn't sad because I had lost two of my best freaks. I wasn't sad because it was no longer raining on the Wet Carnival. I was sad because while I can be strict, I'd always wanted Carnival Umidus to be like a family. I wanted everyone here to be close to each other and rely on each other. So, you can imagine, how much of a failure I felt like when two of the children decided to leave the family."

Juvia wouldn't look at him. Family? If he wanted Umidus to be like a family, he had certainly failed. Was it just her lack of domestic experience or did families normally not keep the children locked up?

"You don't have anything to say?"

Juvia still stared at the ground, too disgusted by the fact that even after she got out, he'd still trap her here again. Some family man.

"Look, Rain Woman, I know you can talk now, so I know you're just being grouchy. You'll have to communicate sooner of later, you know."

When Juvia still wouldn't give him any kind of reaction, he sighed and left the tent, leaving her with only the sound of the rain pounding overhead and her thoughts.

It was only a few minutes later that she began to cry. Juvia wept fat salty tears that left dark spots on her shirt. She looked down, and it occurred to her that if she never sees Gray again, the clothes on her back would be all she had left of him. Of course, this made her sob even harder. The rain thundered down in torrent, beating the tent with dangerous force.

But what did Juvia care? Let the rain fall as hard as it wants, as hard as she involuntarily makes it. Let it destroy that wretched carnival. The blue-haired girl found as comfortable a position as she could, lying on the floor of her cage, and she unleashed a waterfall of tears. How dare they steal her away from her Gray, how dare they?

One of the support rods of the tent snapped close to the top and fell, dragging the fabric down with it and tearing a two foot-long gash.

Rain flooded in through the gash, pushing it slowly larger. It clattered on the roof of her cage, roaring like a lion who'd fallen into a ditch and been left by its pride.

_Help me out!_ it seemed to cry. _Come help me, please!_

But no one came to let Juvia out of the cage. The Carnival staff simply endured the rain and its damages, intending to wait out her sorrow. No one came to help her.

* * *

><p>Uncomfortably dry as he stood outside Lyon and Gajeel's apartment building, Gray rang the doorbell that read "Gajeel Redfox." He'd been here a few times before to speak with Lyon about things, but now, he had to talk to the Iron Dragon.<p>

In his hand, he held the letter he'd found on his desk. The one supposedly written by Juvia as a goodbye. He'd read it over a hundred times, and each time, he felt more and more like there was something wrong with it.

"Gray?" Gajeel wondered when he answered the door. "What're you doing here?"

"Juvia's gone," he said. "I found this letter, but I don't think she wrote it. I think Umidus kidnapped her."

Gajeel glanced at the letter and sighed. "So, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Okay, now, I'm not trying to make any accusations here, but I do find it a little bit odd that she disappeared the night after she sees you, a fellow carnival person, again. I was just wondering, did anyone still with the carnival try to get information from you? Did you give it to them?"

"Hey, buddy, I'm the one who helped Juvia out of that place. I'm not about to drag her back to it," Gajeel snapped. "Someone from Umidus did come here last night. They said they'd been watching me and had seen you and Juvia. They wanted to know some weird shit about her like how she talked, what her real name was, etc. I said she didn't talk, even on the outside, but they'd seen her, so that was out. They just couldn't hear what exactly she or any of us were saying, so they wanted to know if she had any odd speaking habits. I said no. I also told them that I didn't know her name. She'd never told anyone, even you."

Gray was stunned. Gajeel'd really tried to protect Juvia. Looking back at the letter, he was positive it was from Umidus to cover up the kidnapping. They'd wanted to know if she talked in any particular way: third person. Ever since that first night at her trailer, she'd always communicated in the third person. And her name: the letter was signed "Your Rain Woman." Since Gajeel'd told them she never disclosed her real name, they must've assumed she went by her stage name.

On top of that, Gray thought back to those first couple nights when he snuck out to meet her and she'd communicate through note. The handwriting of the letter was very close to hers, but in the little details—the loops on her y's, the dots of her i's, the swooshes of her s's—he could see that it was fake.

Seeing the look of realization on Gray's face, Gajeel felt really bad. Not that he'd even done anything to feel bad for, just bad as in he's stuck out here with Gray, who is really upset, when he really should be upstairs in his apartment getting ready for a date he may or may not have planned for later that night with someone who may or may not have called him on his cell, which only one person besides Lyon may or may not know the number of.

"Hey, Gray," he said, "I'm really sorry about all this, but I do have some stuff I have to take care of, so…"

"Oh, no, right. It's okay, I just came by to see what you knew. I'll leave now."

Gray turned to start walking back to the train station, but Gajeel stopped him.

"Wait, Gray! Um, Umidus invited me back. They said that if I didn't want to stay with them I didn't have to, but they did mention that their location after Onibus would be Oshibana, right next to the canyon. I think that rescuing her their, especially if they've just arrived and people are distracted, you'll have a better chance of success."

Gray smiled. "Thanks, Gajeel."

* * *

><p>Gray got off the train in Magnolia and walked back to his apartment with purpose. Now, he knew exactly where he could find Juvia and he had a plan already forming in his mind.<p>

He'd take Gajeel's advice and wait for the carnival to move to Oshibana. Within the next couple days, he did want to go the town so he could wait for them to arrive and really strike while the iron was hot. He could take what time he needed off of work. and if that was a problem, he didn't care, it was a crappy job to begin with.

Sitting at a bus stop near his building, he saw Jet and Droy, who didn't look to happy.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Gray," Jet responded. Droy nodded.

"What's got you two looking so gloomy?"

Droy sighed. Jet told Gray, "Well, you see, we sort of felt like getting out of the house and taking our minds off Levy."

"Why would you need to do that? She's in Hargeon, isn't she? Is she okay?"

"Oh, she's perfectly fine," Droy said, his words drenched in sarcasm. "She just called us earlier for some dating tips."

"Ouch," Gray winced.

Jet nodded. "Ouch indeed. See, she's got a date with that Iron Dragon guy from Carnival Umidus. I guess he quit and lives in Hargeon now."

"How convenient," Droy added.

The two of them just sat there on the bench, looking put out and disappointed, so Gray gave them each some parting words of encouragement and continued to his apartment. He thought Jet and Droy were great guys, but personally, he did think Gajeel and Levy made a cute couple.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry if this a little short, but you know. It was a bit rushed, since I won't be with my computer for a while, and I wanted to update before that. the next chapter will be longer and better plot-wise, I promise.

And oh my gosh, you readers are just too smart! Figuring out the letter thing before I even wrote it. :)


	11. The Truth: Whole and Nothing But

The sun began to rise over the canyons surrounding Clover town. His back and elbows were sore from sitting at the window, resting his head in his hands since the night before. But he wouldn't sit up. He wouldn't take his elbows of the ledge of the open window and stretch out his arms. He'd only stare at the large open area in front of him.

Any minute now, Carnival Umidus would set up right there, just a mile from the house in which he was renting a room for the next week or two. He'd explained to the woman who owned it that he wasn't sure how long he'd be in town, exactly, and she was more than understanding.

"Oh, don't you worry, son," she'd said. She was an older woman in her late seventies named Mrs. Mulan. Her hair was mostly silver, but here and there, you could find pieces of green. "You stay as long as you need. As long as the room gets rented, I could care less about definite dates. I have a granddaughter about your age. Constantly traveling, horseback riding mostly. She loves that sort of thing." And then she'd drift off, speaking to herself more than to Gray, and walk away. She didn't live completely alone, as she had her tenants. But they didn't stay very long, and family was what she really needed in the house.

The sun wasn't even halfway up when Gray saw what he'd been waiting for: a bad of trailers driving into the area. It was now that he stood, eliciting a series of cracks from his back, which he paid no mind.

Now was the moment to strike. In the excitement and chaos of settling in, especially to such a scenic area. He flew down the stairs and sprinted out the door. That's where he stopped, though. He'd gotten an okay look at how they had set up from his window, now he had to consider how he'd approach, find Juvia, and escape with her, unnoticed.

He stood still at the door, scanning for the painted outside of the trailer Juvia shared with her close friend, Cana Alberona, the fortuneteller.

Spotting it, he casually made his way from the town town, circling around until he was at a convenient angle to enter the site of the carnival without being seen. Gray stopped where the carnival was closest to the town, and he could clearly see the trailer that was his target.

When it seemed that all the visible carnies were sufficiently distracted, he made his move. He bounded to the trailer and arrived, aided by the fact that the sun's early light was still dim, without being seen. He stopped, his back to the trailer, just next to the bars that enclosed her window.

Catching his breath, he determined that he was safe for now, and peered into the trailer through the glass on the other side of the bars. The turquoise curtains were drawn shut, so he tentatively knocked that the glass.

No response.

Frustrated, and thinking again of the day when he thought she'd left voluntarily, he knocked again, a bit harder, in the hopes that she'd just not heard him.

This time, he heard a groan, footsteps, the sound of metal moving, and more footsteps. The curtains opened to reveal the tired, irritated face of Cana, her purple eyes squinting at the unwanted morning. "G-Gray?"

"Cana, where's Juvia? Is she okay?"

The fortuneteller rubbed her eyes. "Have we stopped?"

His levels of frustration rising, Gray tried again to get an answer out of her. "Yes, Umidus is in Clover now. I came here to find Juvia. Do you know where she is?"

Cana let out a heavy breath and touched her head gingerly. "Gosh, I have such a headache. Partied a bit too hard last night. Why am I awake…?"

Of course, she was hungover. Actually, she seemed like she was still tipsy. Gray appreciated how much Cana had helped Juvia escape the first time, and he knew she was her best friend, but at the moment, he had absolutely no patience for her. "Sorry, Cana, but you have to tell me where Juvia is, if you know. Here, have some pain meds, if your head hurts so bad," he said, slipping her a pair of Tic-Tacs, which she swallowed gratefully and obliviously.

"Thanks. Now, I haven't seen Juvia since I helped her escape, but I heard we took her back, and she was in shows back in Onibus. I don't have any idea why we let Gajeel leave, and neither do I know where she is. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Gray sighed. "Thanks, Cana."

On the other side of the trailers, most of the stations were already set up, and the large freak show tent was on its way. Gray's face fell. How much longer would he be able to search for Juvia without being noticed? The cover of settling-in chaos he'd been counting on was fading.

As silently and discretely as he could, he peeped through a few more of what windows he could, but didn't see her. Knowing that he'd be in more trouble than needed if he stayed any longer, Gray reluctantly made his way out of the carnival's vicinity. His only hope now was to attend the freak show and get more information so he could figure out how to help her at night.

* * *

><p>Carnival Umidus opened its gates that afternoon, and a certain blue-haired girl was still in her cage, waiting. Waiting for something to happen. Waiting for a glacier to plow over all of Umidus but for her and Cana. Waiting for her knight in shining armor.<p>

Waiting to forget the impossibly amazing boy she'd fallen in love with four weeks ago.

In Onibus, the town the carnival had visited after Magnolia and stayed in for two weeks, she didn't sleep a wink. All night, every night, she was convinced that Gray would bust open her cage, break her chains, and fly away with her. Away to happiness.

But that never happened. She fell asleep during shows sometimes, but the audience, other freaks, or Makarov would always wake her. Wake her to a world in which Gray had not yet come for her. Now, they were even farther from Magnolia, and the chances of her dreams coming true seamed like the whispers of someone on the other side of the crowd at a death metal concert.

Her cage was no longer in the small tent it had been in for the first couple of days after she was taken, but next to the other freaks in the large tent as it had been in Onibus. This was just like any other show. _Back to the same old routine_, she supposed.

The tent's flaps opened, and the crowd piled in. Wave after wave of fascinated people poured in, pointing, smiling, laughing, screaming. None of those staring eyes were the dark blue ones she was so desperately searching for.

* * *

><p>Not until it was dark did Gray buy his ticket and pass through the gates of Carnival Umidus. Not wanting to waste any time, he briskly walked straight for the freak show tent. Pulling back the flap and following the river of bodies, he made his way through the freaks.<p>

"Yes, of course, my belly's real!" the balloon-shaped man with the thin limbs assured a skeptical boy.

The man with the bull arm now had massive yellow horns on his head and shoulders, and the arm looked more red than black. "People's bodies change through life," he explained to the crowd. "Mine, just a bit more than others." This elicited a huge laugh from the people and exclamations of little kids telling their parents that they wanted to have a beast-body as well.

None of the noise surrounding him fazed Gray. The dense and slow-moving pack of people made it hard for him to get to where he remembered Juvia being, but when they began to move so slowly it was as if they were completely still, he'd had enough. Disregarding manners altogether, Gray was a bit more forceful as he pushed past the people.

Finally, he made it to the area surrounding her cage, and he could see what was creating such a bottleneck. There was an empty semicircle of space in front of Juvia, enforced by Makarov. "Please stay at least five feet back from the Rain Woman, people!" he asked. "Ah, thank you. You see it is because of this lovey young woman that it rains everywhere Umidus goes. The rain follows her..." Gray tuned out Makarov's words and focused on Juvia.

She was different than she was when the carnival was in Magnolia. She didn't wear the Rain Woman outfit she had before (tall, brown boots and a heavy, dark blue dress, shawl, and hat). Now, she only wore the light and dark blue striped dress with the chain straps that he'd bought for her. That and the necklace he'd given her the first day he met her. He'd nearly forgotten about that.

But a change of clothes was one thing. What really ticked him off were the other changes. When he saw her in Magnolia, she looked taken care of and well put together. Now, her dress was wrinkled, her hair was disheveled, and she didn't look healthy. Dark circles framed tired eyes, she seemed like she'd lost about ten pounds, and if it was even possible, grown paler. Furthermore, her wrists were bound together by a pair of handcuffs, and a second chain couple sprouted from the floor and clasped her ankles.

Fueled by a burning rage, Gray lunged for Makarov. "What's going on here? Why did you start treating her so poorly?" he demanded, the old man's shirt bunched up in his fist.

Onlookers began to pull Gray away, insisting he was overreacting, that it was part of the show, but Makarov waved them away. "It's okay, everyone. This guy and I know each other fairly well by now. Gray, if you would like to stay until after the carnival closes, I would be able to speak with you."

_What? That arrogant prick!_ Gray thought, disgusted by Makarov's too-calm tone. "Sorry, but I have plans tonight. Rescuing Juvia," he spit. Sure, he just tossed any chance he had of actually saving her to the wind, but he couldn't help it. He was just too pissed off. Let them try and stop him. He would not leave Clover—nor would he allow Umidus to leave—until Juvia was where she really wanted to be.

"Please, Gray, be rational. Since we left Magnolia, the Rain Woman has been under tight security. Your little kidnapping attempt never stood a chance. Now, if you would please-"

"My kidnapping?" Gray repeated, shocked and insulted. "You're the one who kidnapped her two weeks ago back in Magnolia! You left that decoy letter and everything, but it didn't work. You clearly don't know her well enough."

Still calm as glass, Makarov laid a hand on Gray's fist, asking him to let go of his shirt. "I know her better than you do. I assure you. Talk to me after closing, please."

Dazed and confused by Makarov's words, Gray released the shirt and took a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about. You didn't even know her name. But I will speak with you later. For curiosity's sake."

Makarov shrugged, and urged the crowd along. "Nothing to see here. Enjoy the carnival!"

Gray casually walked up next to Juvia's cage and took a seat, leaning against the bars. "Don't get the wrong idea, though. I'm going to sit here and wait for our little chat. And Juvia will be free of this carnival soon."

* * *

><p>Her eyes, which were the color of the ocean, now seemed the size of it. Her heart throbbing like the hoof-beats of a racehorse, Juvia couldn't believe what was happening. There, just on the other side of the bars was her knight in shining armor. Her hand reached up and gave his sword, the sword that hung around her neck, a squeeze. From the beginning, the necklace had been a promise, a promise to slay all the dragons for her.<p>

He was going to talk to Makarov in just a few hours. She could be free in just a few hours. It was unlikely, but possible.

The only thing that worried her was Makarov's comment about knowing her better than Gray did. She didn't know what he could possibly know about her that Gray didn't. It was true, what Gray said: Makarov hadn't even known her name until Gray announced that he was going to rescue her. And even after that, Makarov still referred to her as Rain Woman, her stage name. For the audience, she was sure.

Slowly, the amount of people who passed by, enjoying the freak show, dwindled until only a few were left. By that time, it was closing. Makarov ordered Laxus to usher the last few stragglers out and go make sure the rest of the carnival closed up all right.

"Now, Gray," he said. "If you'd like to have that talk, you can follow me to my office."

Gray stood, and gave her a reassuring look. He would free her. She knew it. "I'll be right back, Juvia," he told her and followed Makarov out of the tent.

Just after they left, a young man with a black buzz cut and scars on one side of his face entered the tent and pulled up a chair next to Juvia's cage. He held his clipboard against his crossed legs and clicked a pen. "Well, haven't you had an exciting evening?" he began pleasantly, as he always did. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized for his oversight and slid a pad of paper and pen over to her. She had agreed to communicate through writing but still wouldn't speak. It wasn't much, but it was all she could do in terms of dissent.

_Doranbalt's still trying to convince Rain Woman of that lie, isn't he?_ She scrawled. This man was Dr. Doranbalt, a psychiatrist. Umidus hired him to "help" her after they took her from Gray. But he only made her feel worse. He told her lies that gave her nightmares when she'd accidentally fall asleep and only made her wish for Gray to recue her more desperately.

Sometimes, when she had been up for a few days, she'd see things that weren't real. A boy's figure waving back and forth. Stripes across people's faces. Tears pouring from eyes she couldn't find. But all of these would disappear the instant she saw them. Just her sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on her.

Dr. Doranbalt sighed and spoke as calmly as he could, "We're never going to make any progress if you keep putting up these walls."

Just to spite him, Juvia flung the pen right past his head and kicked the pad of paper towards him, finding a comfortable position up against the far side of the cage.

* * *

><p>It smelled musty, like old man. But then, what did Gray expect? The front half of Makarov's trailer looked like any other office: a desk with a few chairs around it, some plants, pictures hanging on the walls. The back half, his personal half, was separated by a wall with a door.<p>

Now, Gray sat opposite the old man, the desk between them. "So?" he asked. "What do you know about Juvia that I don't? What is this big secret that entitles you to keep her here against her will?"

"Gray, what do you know of Juvia's past?"

"She said she lived a pretty normal life until she graduated junior high. Well, her parents didn't like the rain, so they made her go away for school. She got bullied there, and sewed Teru Teru Bozus to try and stop the rain. Just before entering high school, she joined Umidus. She didn't want to speak to anyone, though, because she thought it would pave the way for complaints about the rain."

Makarov chuckled. "Yes, that is what I've heard from Cana and Doranbalt. Did she mention her family at all?"

"Just her parents, not any siblings. But who's Doranbalt?"

Again, Makarov seemed to find his response amusing. "Dr. Doranbalt is her psychiatrist. But I must say this: I'm very sorry that Juvia has lied to you."

"What do you mean?"

"You shouldn't feel bad about it, though. She's been lying to herself since the summer she joined us. You see she had three siblings, all brothers. Their names, I believe, were Sol, Totomaru, and Aria, if I remember correctly. Now, it was when she returned from school that it happened. Before I begin, please, let me finish before you disregard it all as malicious lies, which I know you will."

Gray nodded. "That's where you'd be right. Continue."

Makarov cleared his throat and began. "She had three brothers. When she returned from school, that summer, there was a day when the four of them were home alone, and they were particularly mean to her. Sol, who was younger than her, complained that she was like a curse every holiday, dampening all their fun times. Totomaru, older than her, was the worst. He said she should never have been born. He brought up the story of her birth: born outside during a horrendous storm, where her mom was struck by lightening and legally dead when she was born, then resuscitated, thank God. Anyway, he said she should have died then, and they wouldn't have had to put up with her rain all the time. He wished she'd drown in her own rain one day. Aria, the eldest, was kinder, but still terrible. He tried to get the other two boys to cut her some slack. But he said, 'C'mon, guys. It's not her fault she burdens everyone she encounters with this sorrowful fate.'"

Gray couldn't believe how cruel someone's own brothers could be. He'd never had a sister, but if he did, he would never say such awful things to her, no matter what.

"And so," Makarov went on, "this was Juvia's breaking point, the last straw. In a moment of weakness, she snapped and killed all three of them. It was a gruesome scene, to say the least. When her parents came home, nearly the entire first floor was covered in blood. And there was Juvia, standing in the living room, holding a knife, her brothers dead at her feet."

Makarov took a moment, to clear his head. He shook it a few times, as if he couldn't believe what he was saying, it was too horrible. "The entire experience, once she'd realized what she'd done, was too emotionally scarring. She didn't speak or write a word for a good year and a half afterword. Her first few months here she hardly even moved. The court let her parents decide: life in prison or Carnival Umidus. Don't ask me how they came to their decision. I have no idea what I would have picked. But maybe they wanted her to be able to travel, like she'd always wanted. They did love her, deep down. Even after the murders, parent and child are parent and child. Now, with these severe emotional scars, her coping method was to force her brain to forget it had ever happened. Any of it. It's worked for her so far, almost too well. She actually has succeeded in convincing herself of the lie and totally forgetting her past. As far as she knows, she was an only child who came here voluntarily. And she sincerely believes that."

The two sat in silence for a moment, Gray taking this in, Makarov trying to gage his reaction.

"How do you know all that?" Gray finally asked. "About the fight, when her parents were out?"

"Security cameras," Makarov said simply. "Her parent were quite wealthy and had more than enough set up around the house. The court case didn't take very long, thanks to them."

Gray took a deep breath, waited a moment, and left the trailer.

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry last chapter was so short and, well, bad. It was very rushed. I hope this one's better! Thanks for all the favorites and reviews.


	12. Violent Memories

Outside of Makarov's trailer, the rain was beating hard and fast. Like needles, the tiny drops stung Gray's skin where they hit. Sprinting through the muddy grass that the carnival was sprawled over, he made a beeline for the freak show tent, Makarov's words resonating in his mind.

_It can't be true_. He tried to tell himself. _It isn't true. Not Juvia._

When he got inside in tent, when the rain wasn't pounding at this ears, he could here Juvia sobbing and a man yelling at her, "Tell me you don't recognize them! Look me in the eyes and with a straight face, and tell me you truly don't remember your brothers!"

Juvia screamed, and when Gray came around the corner, he saw that she was curled up on the far side of the cage with her hands over her ears and her eyes shut tight. The man, who was sitting on a chair and holding a clipboard, held a fan of photos out to her.

"Hey!" Gray shouted, running towards them. Juvia's face immediately lit up, like nothing the man had done or said had ever existed. Her Gray was here. The man, however, showed no surprise. Makarov had told him of Gray, the boy in love with the mute, rain-bringing, amnesic killer. "What they hell are you doing? Why are you treating her like this and spewing that lie Makarov made up? Yeah, he told me the whole thing, and it's batshit insane."

The man stood up and took a deep breath. Speaking in that quiet, calm voice adults always use with little kids throwing tantrums, though he really wasn't much older than Gray, he said, "Gray, calm down. My name is Dr. Doranbolt, and I'm only trying to help her. Repressing something like this, especially to the point where the person sincerely doesn't remember it, is terribly unhealthy. Bringing it back to the front of her mind and helping her accept it is the best thing for her at this point."

"God, I have had enough of this crap. I know Juvia, and I know she'd never do something like that to her own brothers just because they were bullying her."

"I'm sorry, Gray. I believe that you think you are right, but the Juvia you know is a very different Juvia from the one she was three years ago." Dr. Doranbolt then handed Gray the stack of pictures.

Most of the pictures showed four children: a girl he recognized as Juvia and three boys. The years the pictures were taken varied greatly, ranging from when Juvia was in first grade or so to when she was in her early teens. The youngest-looking boy had green hair that stuck out in odd ways and always seemed like he was waving from side-to side, even in the photos. The middle brother had black and white hair kept in short ponytail, and in the more recent photos, after he appeared thirteen or so, had a black stripe tattooed across his face, which broke under his eyes. The eldest was a large boy whose eyes where always covered with a white band, and in most of the shots, his cheeks were wet, like he'd been crying.

The last two photos didn't show the children, but were clearly taken after their death. The first showed a green-haired woman who buried her face in the chest of a man, her husband, with hair the exact same shade of blue as Juvia. Behind the parents were three graves marked Sol, Totomaru, and Aria Lockser, with their deaths a day in August the summer before Juvia would have started high school. Juvia was not in this photo. She was in the last picture, however. Apart from being a few years younger, she looked much like she did now: messy hair, wide eyes with dark circles under them, paler than usual. It was a mug shot.

All the air rushed out of Gray's lungs like he'd been punched in the gut by the Black Bull. These couldn't be real.

* * *

><p>Juvia watched Gray look at the photos. She knew what he saw, and she could only hope he could see through their lies. She didn't recognize any of those boys, and she certainly hadn't killed them. When Gray got to the last in the stack, the mug shot, she clutched the sword that hung from her neck and anxiously awaited his reaction.<p>

Her heart nearly stopped. On the face of the boy she loved was an expression of first sadness that then morphed into one of pure disgust. As if they were covered in the boys' blood, he flung to photos back at Doranbolt, repulsed by what he'd seen.

Juvia shut her eyes again. She couldn't bear to see Gray's face so distorted by the disgust he must feel towards her now, believing the lies. And then, like a blunt knife digging into her stomach, she heard him say, "You are a terrible person. The most vile, horrid, and unfortunate creature to ever curse the earth with your presence. These photos and their story are so excruciating to see and hear, they're almost a crime against humanity. I hope I never have the misfortune of ever running into you or any of the horrible people of this Carnival ever again."

The poor Rain Woman was now curled back into her ball, hands over her ears in a vain attempt to shut out Gray's words.

_This must be another nightmare_.

She was expecting Gray to leave then, but again, she was shocked. When her curiosity for why he was still there finally won over her urge to block him out, she looked up to see him staring at Dr. Doranbolt and Dr. Doranbolt staring right back, both their eyes smothered in hatred.

Doranbolt was the first to speak. "Nothing you're doing is doing her any good. In fact, you're making it worse. One day, all that she's repressed will explode, and she'll be much worse than this." He gestured to Juvia.

"I don't care," Gray spat. "You are trying to convince both of us of a heinous lie, but even if it were true, I'd still be rescuing her from you sick people, because I love her, and no matter what happened in the past, she's always made me happy, and now I'll do anything to make sure she's happy. Now, hand over the keys. We're leaving."

* * *

><p>Gray had been prepared for a fight, always sizing up the man in front of him, figuring out where he'd be weakest. He had scars on the left side of his face, indicating that he was weaker in defending that side, or at least as Gray hoped.<p>

However, the doctor had no intention of fighting. "Fine," he said, taking a ring of keys from his jacket pocket and removing one. "Take her. Leave. Sure, the government will be angry with Umidus for letting a murderer escape, and Makarov will be angry with me for letting you take her. But it'll all be worth it. One day, the truth will come out. Eventually, when she can't repress it any more, and the memories come flooding back, both of you will be thrown into a living hell. And while I may not hear about it when it does happen, I'll always know that it will, so it's fine by me. As long as you get yours in the end."

Gray calmly took the key from Dr. Doranbolt, and without a word, to him, unlocked the door of Juvia's cage. "Come on, Juvia. Let's go home."

A smile broke across her face like no smile had before. Freedom at last. She could leave with Gray and be truly free, not a fugitive, not a runaway. She leapt up and hugged him around the neck, tears running down her cheeks. He held her close, and at that moment, everything was perfect.

Taking her by the hand, Gray lead her out of the freak show tent and started on the way back to town, but she stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Juvia just has some things she needs to pick up."

Though wary, for it was Doranbolt, not Makarov, who had freed her, Gray followed Juvia back to Makarov's trailer. "Um, Juvia, are you sure this is necessary?" Gray asked. If they were found now, all their newfound happiness would go down the drain.

"Yes, Juvia's sure. Just give her a moment."

Before Gray could reach out his hand and grab her arm, before he could even say, _wait_, Juvia'd disappeared through the trailer door.

But of course, as it was a night of miracles, Juvia popped back out not two minutes later with a bundle of clothes—the clothes Gray had bought her—and something small and white. It was a teru teru bozu, a spherical head with two black buttons for eyes and a stitched black mouth, with a curtain of white hanging down from it.

"I couldn't leave Rupert behind," she explained. "Not again. Last time, I thought I wouldn't need him, but now that I know I don't, I just want him. He's always been there for me."

Gray nodded, and silently, they ran to the town, leaving Umidus behind them forever.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Gray and Juvia brought their bags downstairs in Mrs. Mulan's house where Gray'd rented a room, prepared to leave. They had an eleven o'clock train back to Magnolia and a semi-normal life.<p>

"You have everything?" Gray asked again.

"Yes, Juvia's set, and she's told Gray this so many times, she'd think he'd get the message." They both laughed, but were soon interrupted by shouting coming from down the hallway.

"Grandma, you're being ridiculous!" It was the voice of a young woman.

Then, Mrs. Mulan's voice responded, "No, Bissy, you tramping around with someone like him is what's ridiculous!"

The old woman then entered the foyer, not noticing Gray and Juvia standing at the bottom of the stairs. Following her was a young woman with long green hair who wore a very short and very tight strapless blue dress, a white and yellow bandana around her neck, and a cowgirl hat, along with a dark-skinned, black-haired boy of about the same age, who wore a fringed poncho over an Indian-red shirt and tawny pants. While the girl looked angry with Mrs. Mulan, who appeared to be her grandmother, he just looked upset.

"Oh, and what is that supposed to mean, 'someone like him?'" she wondered, offended. "Is it because he's Native American? You racist!"

Mrs. Mulan sighed, "No, of course not, Bissy. It's that he shoots guns for a living. Dangerous, reckless, just plain stupid… I don't want you getting influenced by any of that."

"Oh, my god, Grandma, I've told you a hundred times, don't call me 'Bissy.' It's _Bisca_. And Alzack's not a bad influence on me. I love him, and I got into guns before I even met him. I'm really good at shooting, too, you know." Her tone now had grown a lot softer and calmer. "Please, just let me do what I'm good at. Let me do what I want."

Finally noticing the other couple in the room, Mrs. Mulan spoke in a quiet yet harsh voice, "Bisca, please. I have tenants to take care of. Just wait for me in the living room."

With a scowl, Bisca turned around, took Alzack's hand, and marched back down the hallway.

"So sorry about that," Mrs. Mulan said pleasantly to Gray and Juvia.

Gray took care of the business while Juvia admired the paintings that hung on the walls of the foyer, thinking about Bisca and Alzack. She hoped all this ugliness got sorted out at some point, so Bisca could be with him but still get along with her grandmother.

* * *

><p>Gray leaned over to Juvia. "Look," he said, "we're nearly back in Magnolia."<p>

Juvia, who'd been sleeping, opened her eyes and looked out the train window. They were rolling through woodland, but through the trees, she could make out the buildings of the town.

"Juvia's so happy," she whispered.

That night, Juvia awoke next to Gray form a horrible nightmare. The three boys, the ones that Dr. Doranbolt and Makarov had called her brothers were there. It wasn't a nightmare in the sense that it was frightening—in fact it was quite pleasant. She saw herself running through fields with the boys, the four of them sitting down to a picnic with their parents. She saw the eldest, Aria, lifting her up to reach Rupert, who Totomaru had hidden above a bookcase. She saw herself with her parents and older brothers watching young Sol in a dance recital. She saw her family enjoying life.

What made this a nightmare was that Dr. Doranbolt had never told her or shown her pictures of any of these events.

* * *

><p>AN: Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry this took so long to get out! Preparing for school, finishing work, end of summer, etc. just busied me up and I sort of forgot about poor Carnival Umidus. This is the last chapter, so I want to send a special thanks to everyone who stuck with me, put up with me, and kept reading to the end! Thank you so much to everyone who enjoyed this.

In response to a view reviews I got on this concerning the vagueness of the ending. I wrote it that way in order to leave it up to the reader to decide for themselves if Juvia killed her brothers or not. Which do you want to be true? Which do you actually think is true?


End file.
